EAST LANSING — Flozell "The Hotel" Adams will be checking into the Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 18, leading a class of six new inductees.
The others who will be inducted this fall include:
-Three-time national champion wrestler Greg Johnson (1969-72, posthumous)
-1955 national champion football lineman and national championship coach Carl "Buck" Nystrom (1953-55)
-Big Ten champion tennis player Sue Selke (1972-75)
-Fastpitch softball champion and basketball standout Kathy Strahan (1974-78)
-Olympian and three-time Big Ten all-around gymnastic champion Dave Thor (1966-68)
Adams was a standout offensive lineman who played for the Spartans from 1994-1997 during the tenure of former coach Nick Saban before embarking on a 13-year NFL career that included five Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl appearance his final season (2010) with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Just hearing the name, 'Hall of Fame,' means a great deal to me,'' Adams told MLive.com late Monday night. "We've had so many great athletes at Michigan State that for me to be selected is such an honor. I never thought I'd be Hall of Fame anything.''
Adams was an All-Big Ten selection his junior season and an All-American as a senior, named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year before the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft.
Adams played 12 NFL seasons in Dallas, and in 2009 he was ranked among the Cowboys' Top 50 players of all-time (No. 42).
The 6-foot-7, 340-pound Adams never lost his passion for the Spartans, however, insisting on many Saturdays of his NFL travels that the hotel he was staying at put the Michigan State football game on a TV set so he could watch the game.
"I've always been a Michigan State fan, like everyone else, a Spartan for life,'' Adams said. "Coach (Mark) Dantonio has certainly done a great job, and I've heard the people talking about this season. But win or lose, I'm going to be there for Michigan State.''
Adams said he will literally be in East Lansing for at least one fall scrimmage, and he makes it a point to attend when the Spartans tackle in-state rival Michigan.
Adams was also there for the Spartans this spring, when athletic director Mark Hollis was looking for donors to help fund the north end zone stadium project.
Adams stepped up with a $1.5 million donation to fund the upgraded home locker room, which is part of the $24 million renovation to Spartan Stadium.
"It was pretty ancient,'' Adams said of the previous locker room. "Everything that's being done right now with the locker rooms, the stadium, the program, it's a big step forward.''
The locker room will be named in honor of Adams' mother, Rachel Adams, who passed away in 1996.
Adams said his mother played a significant role in his decision to attend Michigan State.
Dantonio said Adams' gift will help the Spartans remain competitive on the recruiting trail.
"It will make a huge difference, not just to our current players but to our players that will be coming in the future as well," Dantonio said at the spring game, when Adams' gift was announced. "It puts us on par with one of the best facilities in the country in this area."
Adams' Michigan State teams were as competitive as any in the Big Ten, and his junior year he starred on an offensive line that helped produce 1,000-yard rusher Sedrick Irvin. The Spartans had more than 200 yards rushing in eight games in 1996.
In 1997, Adams senior season, Michigan State finished 24th in the nation in rushing (199.5 yards per game). In the regular-season finale, the Spartans churned out 452 yards rushing in a 49-14 victory over Penn State.
"It was my final home game at Spartan Stadium and Penn State came in ranked fourth in the country,'' Adams recalled. "We just ran the ball down their throats. We had lost close games to Penn State in 1995 and 1996, so they deserved a little payback.''
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