Growing up in Charlotte, N.C., Jamar Adams didn't know much about the University of Michigan. ACC football - Florida State in particular - dominated the airwaves in the football-rich Southeast, leaving little exposure for Midwestern schools like Michigan.

That is, until the Wolverines' national-title run made waves in 1997.

"I mean, I think the only year really I was a big-time Michigan fan was '97 with Charles Woodson," Adams said. "Because it was on TV a lot."

Twelve years old at the time, Adams had no idea he would wind up donning the maize and blue. But Michigan's swaggering superstar left an impression on the youngster.

"I got to see Charles, and I was like, 'Next year, I'm gonna wear a shield like he wears, I'm gonna wear No. 2 like he wears,' " Adams said.

When it came time for Adams to choose where to play his college football, the Maize-and-Blue seed Woodson had planted years before sprouted. Adams left behind his old dream of playing for the Seminoles and headed to Ann Arbor ready to compete for playing time at safety.

"This program has so much to give to a player," Adams said. "Academics and athletics are great. The tradition. It's far superior."

Now in his junior year, Adams is coming into his own as a leader of the secondary Woodson once dominated. Standing 6-foot-2 and tipping the scales at 210 pounds, Adams has the physical attributes of a prototypical strong safety. He's strong, he's fast, and, as Vanderbilt's offense found out the hard way last Saturday, he certainly can hit.

Adams boasts all the necessary physical tools, but his mind sets him apart from the pack - he was a three-time honor-roll student and chess-team member in high school. His studious nature translates perfectly to the safety position.

After starting eight games at strong safety in 2005, Adams worked closely this offseason with new defensive coordinator Ron English, who continues to coach the safeties. Studying film with English, Adams does his best to absorb every morsel of information his coach provides in an effort to become English's on-field representative.

"As a defensive coordinator, he studies situations, what (Michigan's opponents) want to do," Adams said. "So he echoes that to (the safeties), and we have to try to echo that to the defense. So I'm trying to be (English's) mouthpiece on the field, so it helps me out a lot. Because I try to know what he's thinking, in the sense of what he said to me earlier in the week."

Adams has always been a student of the game - as shown by coach Lloyd Carr's decision to play him as a true freshman in 2004 - but he says his mental game has reached a new level this year. After winning back the starting strong safety job in a deep and talented Michigan secondary, Adams's confidence is at an all-time high.

"I don't know what it is, I think it's just, you've been there for a while," Adams said. "You just feel comfortable. You don't feel like, man, if I mess up, coach is gonna be looking behind my back saying, 'Oh yeah, he doesn't know what he's doing out there.' So it's just a comfort level."

Unfortunately for the Commodores, Adams looked awfully comfortable on Saturday. Roaming the secondary, he anchored Michigan's rock-solid defensive performance, tying for a team-high six tackles. Adams also notched an electrifying pass-breakup late in the third quarter, perfectly timing a powerful hit on star Vanderbilt receiver Earl Bennett and dislodging the ball.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, Adams put the cherry on top of a superb game when English sent him on a safety blitz. Adams sped into the backfield and picked up the first sack of his collegiate career, taking down Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson nine yards behind the line of scrimmage.

"It's always kinda cool to come up with a sack," Adams said. "That's something you're always used to seeing D-lineman and linebackers get. . Coach (English), he wants everybody to get a chance to get in there (on the blitz). I love it."