Football 2016: ‘Itty Bitty’ Theis keeps finding ways to make people miss

It seems like everyone who has watched Adam Theis run a football over the years has come up with a nickname of their own for him.

He’s heard everything from the “Adam Bomb” to “Mighty Mouse” to describe his playing style.

But the best name might come from Bishop Carroll senior offensive lineman Sam Nance, who has blocked for Theis since they were in the first grade.

“Me and my dad call him ‘The Itty Bitty,’ ” Nance said. “He may be small, but he sees the field better than anyone I’ve ever played with.”

Theis has been answering questions about his height, or lack thereof, ever since he became a running back. He was tiny as a junior football player and he never hit much of a growth spurt.

It’s never mattered. He has electrified whatever backfield he has been in at every level, including last season when he earned his first shot at varsity and rushed for more than 1,300 yards and accounted for nearly 30 touchdowns.

Instead of wish for a couple more inches, Theis searches for ways to use it as an advantage.

“I love the challenge of being small and surprising people,” Theis said. “I think it’s actually helped me in some ways. Being smaller, my center of gravity is lower to the ground, so I think that makes me tougher to tackle.”

References to his diminutive stature may seem strange since the roster will list Theis at 5-foot-11 this season. Theis laughs when relayed this number, saying he’ll have to thank coach Alan Schuckman later.

“He definitely gave me a couple of inches,” said Theis, who estimates he is 5-9 on “a good day.”

Defenders can’t explain how he vanishes from their grasps. Defensive coordinators concoct schemes to contain him, yet they almost never succeed.

The Itty Bitty always finds a way to get free.

“He’s been juking out defenses since we were playing as little kids,” senior defensive end Robert Garcia said. “He’s not really that big. He’s not going to run over a 300-pound guy, but he’s definitely going to give anyone the shake down and squirt out to the sideline.”

In some ways, Theis has succeeded doing the same thing his whole life: making defenders miss in the open field. But more goes into his craft than that. He’s had to add parts to his game as he has ascended the ranks and his biggest realization came after his first varsity start last season against Northwest.

“Varsity football is a whole new world,” Theis said. “In that game I wouldn’t run downhill because I wanted to go side to side and juke everyone out like I did on JV. But at the varsity level, you can’t really do that all the time. Sometimes you have to get the tough yards.”

Schuckman remembers thinking last season about ways to spread the workload vacated by Denzel Goolsby, the 2014 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.

Behind an offensive line of five seniors, Theis was given the space he needed and the Adam Bomb went off again. Theis proved capable of shouldering the load, not sharing it.

“Adam is a prime example of a kid that waited his turn,” Schuckman said. “He had no problem with working hard as the scout team running back. I really believe that patience made him a better player. He waited for his opportunity and when it came, he was ready for it.”

Theis knows this season, which begins Sept. 2 against Northwest, will be different.

It’s rare a Carroll running back returns with such lofty stats from the previous season; many have to wait their turn for the full-time gig until they are seniors. So Theis now has the complete attention of every defense he will go up against this season.

He will be running behind an entirely new offensive line and paired with a new quarterback. Although the five new blockers are all seniors whom have blocked for Theis before at lower levels, everyone understands there will be a learning curve early in the season.

Plus, Theis is now a senior — meaning a new leadership role and expectations of surpassing what he accomplished last season.

It’s a lot to handle, but if Theis has proved anything over the years, it’s that the Itty Bitty always finds a way.

“There’s definitely a lot more pressure and I’m going to be in a different role this season, but honestly it motivates me even more to go out there and do it again,” Theis said. “Right now I’m living a dream playing football for Carroll. It’s a dream come true.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Football 2016: ‘Itty Bitty’ Theis keeps finding ways to make people miss."