Tough, competitive, accountable, selfless: Adam Due sets the standard for Holy Cross football

Adam Due cares deeply about winning, and about the people around him. That may come across as a cliché for any athlete, but for the Holy Cross senior captain and linebacker, it’s a critical component of who he always has been. 

On and off the field, Due carries himself with humility. He’ll deflect praise for his accomplishments, and instead redirect the topic of conversation to center around his teammates. He leads with kindness and compassion, garnering respect from his teammates for the example he consistently sets. And he’ll always give a full, 100 percent effort, sacrificing to put his teammates — his brothers — in the best possible position to win.

“It's always in the back of my head — I hate sitting down after a game and thinking about plays that I could have made,” Due said. “So that's one thing that I really think about: just trying to play as hard as I possibly can.”

Midway through the 2026 campaign, Due has proven to be both a statistical and emotional leader of the Crusader defense, with a team-best 53 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks and four quarterback hurries through six contests against stiff competition. Against nationally ranked Yale on Sept. 19, Due totaled a career-high 17 tackles, still the most by any Patriot League player in a single game this season, earning him Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week laurels. 

“He’s someone who absolutely loves football,” said Holy Cross special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Jimmy Walsh. “His football IQ is off the charts. He's as smart as anyone I've ever coached, plays as hard as anyone I've been around. He’s a physical kid, and you can just tell how passionately he plays — it jumps off the film on game day and during practices. He's a guy that just leads by example with his play.” 

Due has seen playing time in each of his four years on The Hill, earning scattered playing time as a freshman and sophomore before injuries ended his 2024 campaign prematurely. A year ago, he saw consistent action as a reserve linebacker and mainstay on special teams, with a pair of blocked punts and 47 total tackles on the year. His versatility in multiple phases of the game — and his willingness to show up for the team in whatever situation needed — has allowed him to be a difference-maker for the Crusaders.

“I've never seen him turn a thing down in his life,” Walsh said, “and he's a pretty special player all the way around.”

Due’s first introduction to sports was through wrestling, a rite of passage in his hometown of Bangor, Pennsylvania. And one of the earliest signs of his competitive edge shone through in a challenge from his mother, Jessica: Adam wanted to cut his hair into a mohawk, which she would allow, under the condition that he could defeat all of his opponents. He rose to the occasion, pinning every single one. 

When Due’s older sister, Leah, began cheerleading in their town, it was also the first year that Adam was eligible to play flag football. And when that idea was pitched, it was met with resistance. 

He didn’t want to play flag football, he told his father, Mark, before yelling: “I want to tackle!” 

Toughness and physicality have been mainstays throughout Due’s athletic career, just as much as his desire to win. Whether in his wrestling, football or baseball endeavors, it’s always been his priority to give 100 percent, and show the discipline to get to that point. 

“He is a die-hard winner,” Mark said. “He'll do anything to win — in team sports, he’d always find a way to win, and in the individual ones, he knew when he lost, and he made it a point to try to prevent that, and then it carried over to every other sport. He really got it from there, just how to compete, and how to outwork the room.”

From a young age, Due has been incredibly coachable, detail-oriented and responsible. Even though he was only allotted one hour a day to play video games, he used the time to study football, poring over plays and strategy via Madden. He opted to watch SportsCenter and football games over cartoons, and when it came to his obligations, he was always self-motivated. 

“I wouldn't have to bother him to get ready for practice,” Mark said. “He was always ready for practice. I would come home from work and I would never have to say, ‘alright, do you have all your stuff?’ He would be waiting in the driveway to get in the car to go to practice.”

The Due family is one that is incredibly tight-knit, their values mirroring Adam’s hallmarks as a football player and teammate: loyalty, respect, passion, and an embrace of hard work. But as much as Mark and Jessica expected that steadfast drive from their children, they also prioritized fun and family time. Eating dinner at the table as a family was always a non-negotiable, and down time between school and sports was spent playing games, spending time outdoors or finding a new unique activity for the whole family every month. 

When Adam was in the seventh grade, his family relocated from their small town in Pennsylvania to a suburb near Frisco, Texas, for his father’s career. Up to that point, Adam had been surrounded in close proximity by extended family and incredible friends and teammates — but now, it was just the four Dues, adapting to a completely new and unknown environment on their own. 

As the family navigated this new chapter in their lives, Adam coped with the major change in the best way he knew: through football. The Dues were staying in a hotel for a few weeks while finalizing their move, and Mark had signed Adam up for a flag football league — and they went to a practice on their first day in Texas, on the tail end of a two-day, 1,500-mile drive in March. 

Still, for his first six months in Texas, Adam struggled to adjust and fit in. It wasn’t until later that year — when football season started up in the fall — that Adam truly began to feel like himself again. Football, ultimately, was his source of community, and where his closest friendships were formed. 

He didn’t shy away from the pressure that inherently comes with playing football in Texas, a much bigger stage than he was previously familiar with. Instead, it expanded his love for the game and drove his passion that much more. He found his people through football, and he was unconditionally loyal to them.

“His coaching staff, everybody — he loved them, and they loved him,” Jessica said. “He gave it his all. And really, that's all we've ever asked for: Whatever you're committed to, give it your all.”

Entering his junior year at Prosper High School, Due was projected as a starting safety for the team, but tore his ACL during the spring — hampering any opportunity he had to attend any camps or play that season and hindering his recruiting process. And in his return from injury, he faced another change: a move to linebacker, his best chance to not only get college looks, but also help the team win. 

“He’s always come back from whatever he’s faced,” Jessica said. “He's just always been very resilient. Any challenge he's ever had, he's always overcome. He’s always just been that go-getter who doesn't let anything get in his way.”

Due had limited walk-on offers, but learned about Holy Cross through his sister’s friend, Devin Haskins, an All-Patriot League cornerback for the Crusaders. (Devin’s younger brother, Aidan, is also one of Adam’s closest friends.) He would later go on an official visit to Worcester, where he immediately fell in love with the football program, academic offerings and 90-Wide Mentorship Program. 

Mark recalls being incredibly impressed during the visit by all that Holy Cross had to offer, and the family atmosphere — and he was even more impressed by the poise of the captains and upperclassmen, including Haskins, who spoke to the parents during the visit. He remembers thinking: If my son can grow into an adult like these young men, and can lead like these men, then he couldn’t ask for much more in a college experience.

Just a few years later, Adam got to call home and let his parents know that his teammates had selected him as a captain. 

Due’s Holy Cross career has had no shortage of uncertainty or challenge. His first tangible playing time came against Fordham in 2023 — a game in which the Crusaders, decimated by injuries and lining up with a number of players who had never seen collegiate action, pulled off a gritty 49-47 win. Due finished that game with four tackles, and a week later, had two tackles and a quarterback hurry against Lehigh — two critical wins as the Crusaders went on to clinch a share of the Patriot League title.

Entering his sophomore year, Due tore his meniscus, which he initially attempted to play through, but he ultimately opted to have surgery and sit out the rest of the season after three games. He was able to play throughout his entire junior season, and entered his senior season in an expanded role on defense as he moved inside full-time — a role that became even more crucial after health concerns early in the season in the linebacker room. 

“He took on that inside role full-time, and has done an unbelievable job with it,” Walsh said. “How quickly he's transitioned, and taking on that role as far as getting everyone set, echoing the call, taking on guards that definitely have a little bit of weight on him — he doesn't flinch.”

Due embraces not only his on-field responsibilities, but also his off-field ones as well. He soaks up every memory and moment he gets to spend with his teammates, whether they’re playing Clash Royale on a laughter-filled road trip or partaking in a much more serious film session. He’s eager to take younger teammates under his wing and patiently teach them, all while holding himself to a high standard.

“My biggest thing is setting the standards of the team, and that doesn't just mean that I'm setting the standards for everyone else — I have to set the standard myself and make sure I do all the right things,” Due said.

And what is that standard? He boils it down to four words. 

“Tough, competitive, accountable, and selfless.”

When Mark and Jessica Due learned they were expecting a baby boy, the name selection process inherently turned into: How would this name sound over the PA system at a football game?

“Adam” ultimately fit the bill.

Mark and Jessica were high school sweethearts, and built a caring community in the Lehigh Valley area of extended family and friends that became a support network not only for them, but also for their children. It’s the community that helped raise Adam and Leah, and helped encourage Adam’s love of football. 

Fast forward more than two decades, and that community showed up, several dozen deep, amid a nor’easter to witness one of Adam’s best games as a Crusader  to date — a showstopping performance against Lafayette on Sept. 26, just 20 minutes from his hometown (a game in which he played with such intensity that his helmet popped off on more than one occasion). 

Throughout the game, that name was recited, on repeat, over the loudspeaker:

Tackle by number 8, Adam Due.

Fumble forced by number 8, Adam Due.

Sacked by number 8, Adam Due. 

Intercepted by number 8, Adam Due.  

That day proved to be the culmination of a number of things.

The result of a high-effort, no-quit mindset, leading to a tough, gritty, resilient 38-30 win (Holy Cross’ first of the year). 

The gathering of the people from multiple walks of Adam’s life — teammates, family, friends and neighbors — who helped him become the person he is. 

And the triumph for the football player, and man, that Mark and Jessica once hoped and dreamed their son would become.  

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