Adkins played college football at the University of Miami and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of 2009 NFL draft.
He started playing on varsity as a defensive end as a sophomore, but the next year, moved up to linebacker and had 80 tackles and 12 sacks as Naples reached the state championship game.
He was awarded the Naples Daily News Broxson Trophy for best area player,[1] and was All-State.
Adkins was one of the five previous defensive selections in the 2009 Draft by the Falcons and was the first linebacker taken by the team.
Adkins boosted his stock by a solid performance at Miami's Pro Day: he ran 40 yards in 4.43 seconds, broad jumped 10-2, vertical jumped 361⁄2 inches and bench pressed 225 pounds a total of 30 times.