FAYETTEVILLE - Joe Adams could be a Southern Cal Trojan right now, somewhere in the deep skill-position mix for the eighth-ranked team in the country.

Instead, the highly coveted true freshman is in his home state, fighting for improvement and recognition for the rebuilding Arkansas Razorbacks, but already a key piece of the offensive puzzle in the Bobby Petrino makeover.

"I'm playing good right now, and I'm getting the ball as a freshman here," Adams said. "I think I made a good decision."

Adams has appeared unfazed by the difference in speed between college and high school football. He joined the starting lineup in Week 2 and has caught a pass in every game, emerging as a key target for Casey Dick.

"People talk about having freshman jitters, but I really haven't had any," Adams said. "It kind of felt like I'd already been here."

Adams' aggressive play has made an impression on teammates and coaches.

"He's not afraid to go get any ball," tailback Michael Smith said. "He's a fearless freshman right now. We need that out there."

Junior receiver London Crawford, who has passed along tips and advice, sees Adams as a "workhorse."

"I tell him he's way better than most freshmen that's playing ball now," Crawford said. "He's out there making big-time plays in big-time games."

Offensive coordinator and receivers coach Paul Petrino pointed out Adams as a player who has made big strides in the past couple of weeks.

"His talent, he's going to be a really good player before it's all said and done," Paul Petrino said. "He's just getting better and better each week."

Both Petrinos believe the next step in Adams' advancement is learning how to be a better practice player.

"The more I can get him to practice harder, then some day he's going to be special," Paul Petrino said. "He had a good practice [Tuesday ]. We're on the right track."

Bobby Petrino said Adams gets fatigued in practice, probably because of the increase in intensity and repetitions from his high school workload, but that the freshman has still made a commendable transition.

"He's done a nice job with it," Petrino said. "He's very confident. I think his mind-set coming in helped a lot with it."

Adams' mind-set was pretty basic.

"Coming and starting as a freshman and getting five or six balls a game is basically what I [wanted to be ] doing," Adams said. "I think I met it."

Adams also wants to make the SEC's all-freshman team, and he's building a case for it. The 6-0, 175-pounder has 18 catches through five games and has grabbed at least two passes in all but one game. He ranks 11 th in the SEC with 3. 6 receptions per game and 14 th in the conference with 45 receiving yards per game.

"I always thought when I came into college that I could be a big impact my freshman year," Adams said. "It's going good right now."

Keeping Adams in the state appears to be a first-year recruiting coup for Bobby Petrino.

"I think it was huge for the class," Bobby Petrino said. "He was on his way to California and we were fortunate that [running backs coach ] Tim Horton did such a good job of recruiting him the whole time he was committed to them that we had an opportunity.

" Then it was just selling him that we were going to throw the ball and we'd get it in his hands and he'd have a chance to make plays.... It's worked out pretty much how we said it would."

Adams scored the first touchdown for Petrino's team - on a 10-yard pass from Dick - in the season opener, and has exceeded 65 receiving yards in two games.

Last week against Florida, Adams had success on fast-moving crossing routes and hurt the Gators with a 31-yard catch down the middle of the field to put Arkansas in scoring range late in the second quarter.

Adams finished with five receptions for 68 yards, his secondbest statistical game this season, and added a 16-yard reverse that included a highlight-reel 360-degree spin move.

"He was just a big-time athlete [in high school ] and he made plays happen," said D. J. Williams, a fellow Central Arkansas Christian graduate. "If you watch the game film, he went from just making a catch to now making the catch and getting yards after it and going across the middle to make catches.

" I think he's going to progress and become that impact, dominant, highlight-maker player that he was in high school."

Adams has risen to the top of Arkansas' big class of freshman wideouts, partly because the jump in the level of the competition hasn't awed him.

"I think the thing you find out on game day with Joe is how big of a competitor he is, how much confidence he has in himself, and obviously his athletic ability, and his ability to run and elevate while he's running full speed and make catches above his head," Bobby Petrino said.

"That's what excites me so much is his ability to run after the catch, because we're going to need that. You've got to have that as an offense, to be able to throw the ball short and have somebody make a play after the catch."

Adams' confidence is soaring.

"Whenever I touch the ball, I think I'm going to score," he said. "That's the reason I get yards after the catch."

Adams said the decision to turn down USC was a difficult one.

"It was very hard to tell [Trojans Coach ] Pete Carroll that I wasn't coming," he said. "He's one of the dominating coaches in college football right now."

But Adams said his belief in Bobby Petrino's ability to make Arkansas a contender - and Petrino's commitment to the passing game - made it easier to stay in-state.

Williams said he had a hunch Adams was bound for the Razorbacks even when Adams was a USC commitment.

"I knew he was going to stay home and do a great job," Williams said. "I think the fan base is going to love him for that."