For first time, Sparks brothers find themselves on opposite sides

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It's possible.

At some point in Purdue's first road game of the season Saturday at Missouri, redshirt freshman Jared Sparks could line up at receiver or quarterback for the Boilermakers and look across the field and see a very familiar face on the Tigers' defense.

His little brother, Adam, is a true freshman cornerback for Missouri who has played in the first two games.

It's a potentially intriguing matchup.

But one at least one person is not necessarily hoping for.

"The scenario of Jared throwing a TD on Adam or Adam picking off one of Jared's passes haunts me," mom Janelle Sparks said. “The matchup at wide receiver and cornerback against each other is another interesting possibility, but they’re both ready.

"I am excited but nervous about it, especially since they're on opposite sides of the ball. I just pray they both get to play, are safe and play their best. I will just be biting my nails the whole time."

It was really up to Adam to make sure a potential on-field matchup could become reality. He had to prove to coaches he was ready to play as a rookie, and he did so in training camp, showcasing savvy at the position, as well as a physical set that married good speed and athleticism with a no-fear mentality to play physically.

So, now, he’s on the field as a true freshman instead of redshirting, like Jared did last season for the Boilermakers, and played cornerback and special teams in Week 1 and special teams in Week 2. He knows he doesn’t get to make the decision on whether he slips back into the CB rotation for Week 3, but there’s no doubt he wants to.

For one, he’s never covered Jared before. Not during high school practices at Dutchtown in Louisiana. Not even messing around in the backyard. Jared was a quarterback; Adam was a cornerback. That meant the best opportunity to make a play on the other was coming on a pass attempt — with either Adam picking it or Jared torching his little brother for a touchdown.

And this is where the story gets interesting.

Jared didn’t even let the question be finished before he was saying “no” and then, for emphasis, holding out the word, “noooope.” Hasn’t been intercepted by his brother, he said.

Twenty minutes later, Adam was on the phone talking to the same reporter after Missouri’s Tuesday practice and said big bro’s version was “absolutely not true.”

“It’s probably the other way around — me picking him off is very common,” Adam said.

And so the trash talk, as it is, begins.

(Continued below)

It’ll continue on FaceTime, surely, as the week progresses. Because, though this could be seen by some as a shut-off-communication time considering Saturday, that was never a thought for these brothers.

They haven't — nor do they plan to — dial back their conversations this week at all. That'd be too weird for brothers who communicate daily and have such a tight bond. Adam called Jared his best friend. Jared said he wants the best for his little brother, loves him “to death” and has his back no matter what.

And though they won’t be spilling any secrets on schemes in these conversations — it’s about winning, obviously — they will talk about football. And that potential matchup.

The dream scenario, of course, is different for each guy.

Jared said he’ll take catching a ball with Adam in coverage or completing a pass against him.

“Both sound great,” Jared said. “If I could do both in the same game, that’d be pretty good, too.”

Adam, of course, is planning the opposite, talking locking up big brother in coverage or intercepting one of his passes.

“I’m looking forward to both of them, to be honest,” Adam said.

They compete in everything from cooking to baking to grades to girls — at least until Jared got a girlfriend — to video games.

But, in the end, there’s love.

Much, much love.

They praise each other’s talents. Jared called Adam a “savage,” which is a good thing, and lauded his work ethic. When told of the savage comment, Adam laughed and gave it right back, calling big brother a “self-made savage” and then raving about what Jared has become.

“He’s a great competitor, a great athlete,” Adam said. “That’s the thing you have to watch for — even if he gets in at Wildcat, he can also throw the ball because he’s a quarterback. When they put him at wideout, he’s also a big body, so we’ll have to be physical with him because he’ll be physical with us.

“We can’t never sleep on him because there’s a lot things he can do.”

And maybe Adam will say in the next breath that the only thing Jared “cooks” is cereal — and that doesn’t count — and that the entire family loves his yellow cake with chocolate icing … but he will go back to the love in the next next breath when he’s talking about seeing Jared get on the field for the first time as a college player against Ohio last week.

“I was on cloud nine. That was his dream,” Adam said, the pride nearly penetrating the cell phone connection. “I understand how he felt. I was the same last week (when I played for the first time), and I understand the work he put in to get up to that point. I understood how happy that’d make him, so that made me even happier.”

In the end, after the scoreboard declares the winner, Jared and Adam Sparks likely will meet in the middle of the field in Columbia, Mo., and hug. They’ll probably try to get someone to snap a picture, too.

Because, in the end, Janelle’s boys understand the moment. The one they’ll experience with her and her husband Kenyatta, who played college football at Southern University, in the stands as well as other family from Louisiana, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas.

"They have both worked so hard for this. We're proud of them both and love watching their dreams unfold and all of the experience that comes along with it," said Janelle, who will be easily identifiable in the crowd by a custom-designed gray T-shirt, one that made sure to divide the family's loyalty evenly, with the boys’ numbers on the back.

Jared and Adam will cherish it all then, once it’s over.

Because they know what it has taken to get here.

"We’ve been looking forward to this day for a minute, ever since he committed there and we knew we had each other on the schedule," Jared said. "It’s a dream come true, both of us playing on this level, where we always aspired to play, two Power Five conferences, two prestigious universities. All I can do as an older brother is try and show him the way, but he does things that I look up to sometimes.

"I’m very excited for the week. I know how he prepares, I know how I prepare. It’ll be exciting."

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