Dr. Wyane Adkison (2004) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Dr. Wyane Adkison

Induction:
2004

It takes a special kind of person to be a Southern Miss football player. It takes someone who is unselfish. Who is willing to put aside personal goals and dedicate themselves to the goals of the team. It takes someone who is willing to focus and dedicate themselves to the fact that each play, each series, each quarter of the game might be what determines the outcome. And it takes someone who is willing to study the game and look for whatever advantage they might gain over an opponent.

Wayne Adkison was that type of player when he played defensive end for Coach Thad (Pie) Vann from 1966 to 1968. Wayne was not the type of player that could be measured by statistics alone. His size and strength were not overwhelming for the era. But he had something that coaches call “the intangibles”, the heart and that desire to be the best football player he could be and then knew how to turn it loose on the football field, playing with an enjoyment and an excitement rarely seen.

When Wayne came to Southern Miss from Moss Point High School, where he played for Southern Hall of Famer Bobby Holmes in 1965, he came with the skills and abilities to make a contribution, but it wasn’t until he was able to set foot on the practice field, that Vann and his staff could see what he could do. And I believe that when they did, they realized that they had someone special in Wayne Adkison and that once he learned the intricacies of the game, he would make big contributions and they were right.

Wayne would see plenty of action during his sophomore season in 1966 as part of a team that would lead the nation in total defense, allowing just 163.7 yards per game. That team finished the year with a 6-4 record and allowed more than 14 points only once. while recording two shutouts.

In 1967 the team he played on would finish 6-3 and Adkison would be a part of another strong and talented defense. The 1967 defense would finish sixth in the country allowing just 199.3 yards per game and rank third in the country, allowing just 60.1 rushing yards per game.

As a senior in 1968 Adkison and the Southerner defense would be strong once again, ranking fifth in the country in rushing defense allowing only 79.5 yards per game.

Although the types of statistics that we keep today, weren’t kept during the years that Wayne played, when you talk to the men that he played against and with, the coaches that he played for and the fans that he played in front of, they will all tell you that if those types of stats had been kept that he would have been among the leaders in virtually all categories.

When we look at the great Southern Miss defenses of today, we can’t help but think that the foundation for those were laid, many years ago when Wayne Adkison was playing at defensive end for the Southerners. The same things that he brought to the table from 1966 to 1968, are the same ingredients that our defenses utilize and bring to the table today.

Today as a medical doctor, Wayne Adkison brings the same assets to his profession as he once did as a player for Southern Miss. The focus and dedication. The heart and the knack of careful planning. And the ability to put aside individual goals to be more concerned about the individual involved.

It was those things that made Wayne Adkison such a wonderful football player and they are the same things that have made him so successful as a doctor today.

And tonight he assumes his place among the other all-time greats at Southern Miss in the M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, it is with a great deal of pleasure that I present to you for induction, one of our great defensive stars, Doctor Wayne Adkison.