Adam Gotsis Background
Adam Gotsis is a 6’4, 287 pound defensive end/defensive tackle from Melbourne, Victoria. He has four siblings. He grew up playing tons of sports as a kid such as Aussie Rules Football, rugby, and basketball.
However, he did not discover American football until he was 15 years old where his mother showed him a flyer. He decided to give it a shot alongside his brother who is just three years older. He was very intimidated in the beginning as he was going up against 18 and 19 year olds with full-grown beards at the age of 15. Gotsis has no prior football experience either as he has never thrown or caught a football either.
In addition to the football flyer, he also heard of American football from the Madden video game which he also played with his brother. Playing in high school worked out well for him as he was selected to IFAF World Team roster, and played Australian Rules Football for eight years. Played American Rules Football for premier team in Gridiron Victoria – Monash Warriors where he recorded a team-high 12.5 sacks and earned MVP honors in 2010.
Georgia Tech Background
Gotsis had an unique college recruitment since he was from Australia and was recruited by colleges in the United States. Also, he was in high school before key recruiting services such as Hudl and Twitter existed. Paul Manera who was one of his coached who played at the University of Hawaii in the 90s returned back home to help grow the game of American football in Australia. Manera who had a rugby background, recruited athletes like himself who could make the similar transition.
One of his coaches, Paul Johnson instantly took a liking to Gotsis and his game. Georgia Tech was on his radar since he was 13 years old. The tough part for Gotsis was the NCAA recruiting and eligibility process such as asking his schools for hard copy transcripts and so on and so forth as well as the back and forth emailing.
Also, the international pathway program that exists in the NFL now, was not a thing when he was going to school. His first offer and contact was from Hawaii which he received at 16 or 17 years old where he simply filled out a questionnaire and ran a 40-yard dash.
Adam Gotsis Recruiting Story
“Then Georgia Tech came in the picture, and when Georgia Tech recruited me, I went over there for a visit, and um… when I met with the coach, he was like… you know, we want to keep this on the low. We don’t want to put out any press that we’re recruiting you because we don’t want other schools to recruit you. Especially, like, I see the way recruiting works now, it’s kind of like once one big school kind of offers you, like, other schools just kind of jump on that wagon, you know, they might have found you, but other schools can reap the reward of that. So, you know, I respected it and I understood it.
So, you know, after Georgia Tech recruited, started recruiting me, I didn’t post anything. I didn’t really make it known. So I didn’t really get recruited by anyone else. Georgia Tech was kind of my only option. And, you know, my mindset was, you know, if it didn’t work out with Georgia Tech, I probably would have looked to go to a junior college for a year, and then get recruited through that.
Adam Gotsis Recruiting Story II
Adam Gotsis Collegiate Career
Gotsis had a very solid collegiate career. He was named ALL-ACC second-team by media and coaches his Junior year and was a captain by week 3 of his senior year. He finished his collegiate career with 110 tackles, 12.5 sacks, and 27.5 tackles for loss. Also, he demonstrated his versatility with two interceptions, two fumbles recovered, and five passes defended.
However, his senior year, he suffered a brutal season ending torn ACL on the first play from scrimmage against the Virginia Cavaliers. His final year was shortened to just nine games due to the injury.
Destined For The Pros?
Despite that injury, Gotsis made NFL history and was the highest NFL drafted player from Australia. He was drafted in the second round 63rd overall by the Denver Broncos in 2016. That is higher over some notable Australian players such as Jordan Mailata and Nate Ebner.
Gotsis is entering his 11th season in his NFL career and has been on four different teams. In his career, he has 226 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 22 passes defended. He also has three forced fumbles and four recovered fumbles.
Australia vs United States
So depending on what part of the United States you are looking at, his hometown of Melbourne is a 14-18 hour time difference. Currently, since Gotsis is on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, looking at eastern standard time, Melbourne is 14 hours ahead.
One of the hardest things Gotsis experienced coming to the United States was being away from his family and so far away. A flight for him to go back and see his family would be around 22 hours. Fortunately for him, he would have teammates invite him over during holidays and breaks to make the transition a little easier. His family would watch most of his college games on laptops between 2 and 5 am.
Another struggle he faced, especially early on his career, was the language barrier. He still spoke English, but there would be certain lingo that his teammates or him would not understand. Also, his thick Australian accent would make it difficult. Funny enough, when he would go back home, his friends and family would joke around that he is American now.
Rugby vs. Football
Rugby and football are two very different sports. Between the rules, scoring, and equipment, there are vast differences. However, there are also some similarities that made the transition slightly easier.
Career Moments
In an 10-year career, Gotsis has made tons of plays especially some good ones. However, he mentioned his favorite play in his career was his first career sack against Eli Manning. He adds that it was cool to say he sacked Manning who is going to be a future hall-of-famer.
Another great play by Gotsis was a batted down deflection on third and goal against his most recent teammate Baker Mayfield. That play happened in December of 2023, back when Gotsis was playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the other hand, Gotsis has gone up against some elite talent that has been tough for him. Some guys that he mentioned having struggles against was Dalvin Cook in college. At the professional level, he mentioned specifically Jay Ajayi and any of the speed running backs. He said the speed running backs are tough because you think you have them. Then in the blink of a moment, they will cut and run right past you.
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