Quote:B.J. Adigun teamed with quarterback Greg Ryan for three years on his way to becoming the most decorated wide receiver in East Tennessee State University football history.

For Adigun, it’s only fitting that he would be going into the ETSU Athletics Hall of Fame the same time as Ryan.

“When I first got the call that I was going in, I was very honored,” Adigun said. “Then to hear that Greg was also going in, it made it very, very special. As much time as I spent with him, for us to be going in together, that’s really special.”

It was another quarterback, Todd Wells, with whom Adigun would team for an unforgettable senior season in 1997.

Adigun hauled in 68 catches for 1,389 yards and 12 touchdowns to become the Southern Conference Player of the Year and a NCAA Division I-AA first-team All-American.

He was a finalist for NCAA Division I-AA National Player of the Year and the Southern Conference’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 1997-98 school year.

He joined such prestigious names on the list as legendary North Carolina running back Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice, West Virginia and Los Angeles Lakers great Jerry West for whom the NBA logo is designed after and ETSU’s own basketball legend Keith “Mister” Jennings. The list now includes NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry.

However, Adigun hadn’t dreamed of becoming an ETSU Buccaneer. He started at Virginia Tech before an old friend convinced him to come to Johnson City.

“One of my high school teammates, Anthony Stringfield, was a good player there,” Adigun said. “String was in prep school while I was at Virginia Tech and String said that he was going to sign with ETSU and they were looking for impact players to come down. Coach (Mike) Cavan got me on the phone to convince me to come to Johnson City and the rest is history.”

He had the chance to learn under noted receivers coach Darryl Mason and said he couldn’t have had a better head coach than Cavan, who led the Bucs to their only Division I-AA playoff appearance in 1996. The Bucs finished the year 10-3, which included a 35-29 home win over No. 14 Villanova in the first round of the playoffs.

“Coach Cavan was a great motivator,” Adigun said. “When you talked to him one-on-one as well as a group setting, he could get you ready to play no matter what the situation.”

No player made a bigger impact than Adigun who had rewritten the ETSU record books by the time he left Johnson City. He finished his career as the program leader in receptions (172), receiving yards (2,802) and receiving touchdowns (26). He also holds multiple single-game and season marks.

Despite those huge numbers, NFL teams focused more on his slight build. He went undrafted and never had the chance to play at the professional level.

Still, one can argue he has been more successful as a professional than many who made it to the NFL.

Now the director of communications with a health care company in Syracuse, New York, Adigun works with state and federal government agencies to help provide services for Medicaid prospects

“To be quite honest with you, I would not be in position or any of the professional positions I’ve had without my education at ETSU,” he said. “It’s funny because I’m also a volunteer high school coach in Syracuse and the number one thing I try to hammer home is that athletics provided the opportunity to get my education.”

Still, he admits there were some hard feelings towards the university with the decision to drop football in 2003. With time and the school bringing football back, those feelings are long gone.

“It was definitely tough after experiencing some of the greatest success which ETSU football had,” he said. “It left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. But to see football come back, it’s been a treat. I’m a little farther away from Johnson City than most of the guys I played with, but to see what Coach (Carl) Torbush and his coaches have done, it’s absolutely outstanding. It’s a big reason I’m looking forward to being back in Johnson City.”