UCLA hopes that former cornerback Ishmael Adams can make an impact at receiver

The physics have remained the same. The ball sails into the air and Ishmael Adams wants it to come down in his hands.

Only now he finds himself as the intended target, not an interloper trying to snatch the ball from someone else.

“I do love taking the ball away because it sits a different type of way with the crowd and the energy,” Adams said Tuesday after his second day of training camp as UCLA’s cornerback-turned-receiver, “but scoring touchdowns is a great feeling as well.”

Crossing the end zone is something that the Bruins hope Adams does with regularity this fall. Coaches asked the senior playmaker to switch to offense last spring because of his potential to provide a jolt to a receiving corps that lost four of its top five pass catchers from last season.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora said Adams could line up in the slot or on the outside. He could motion into or out of the backfield or even line up in the backfield.

“We’re going to have a package for him that tries to utilize all of his talents,” Mora said. “And I like the fact that he brings a competitive defensive mind-set to our offense when it comes to blocking and taking hits and delivering blows and things like that.”

Adams’ approach also includes lots of jabbering, another carryover from his previous assignment.

“The way he is on defense is the same way he is on offense,” Bruins receiver Darren Andrews said. “It’s just now he’s going on a route and catching the ball.”

Adams hauled in several passes during the first two days of camp while working with the first- and second-team offense. He lined up in a variety of spots and showed an ability to shake defensive backs and get open, something he said resulted from his knowledge of the tendencies of the position he once played.

But there also were apparent challenges associated with being 5 feet 8, no bigger than the bulk of the players trying to stop him. Adams couldn’t come up with a catch late in practice Monday while being swarmed by two defenders.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen said he viewed Adams’ diminutive stature as an asset.

“It makes him a little more efficient out of his cuts,” Rosen said. “He doesn’t have to drop so much weight down to the ground; he just kind of glides.”

Adams said he wanted to catch long passes to prove he wasn’t just a gimmicky quick-hit target, though he didn’t plan on limiting himself.

“Every route,” he said, “is my favorite route.”

Adams is not the first member of his family to play both ways in college. His father, Stefon Adams, was a receiver and defensive back at East Carolina before forging a five-year career as a defensive back and kick returner with the Los Angeles Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins.

“I heard they tried to give him an opportunity at receiver in the league once when a transition was happening,” the younger Adams said, “but he was being a lot more hardheaded than I am.”

Adams said he wasn’t concerned about how his own transition might impact his NFL stock. He sounded like he made the switch almost grudgingly when asked about it Monday, though he acknowledged it made sense given the Bruins’ depth at defensive back and his potential at receiver.

“I’m a team player at the end of the day,” he said. “I’m not going to be selfish and do what I want to do or what have you.”

Adams was a star running back for Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village for two seasons.

He switched to cornerback at UCLA and led the team with four interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2013. The next season, he returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns and added a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Arizona State. Last season, he made two interceptions, returning one for a 96-yard touchdown against Colorado.

Adams intended to remain on special teams this season and has lobbied to play some defense —“I keep hitting that a little bit” with the coaches, he said — but he wanted to focus on offense for now in order to absorb all of its intricacies. He spent time this summer learning technique from former UCLA and NFL receiver Mike Sherrard, one of his high school coaches, as well as talking with his father about the mentality he would need at receiver.

Adams’ biggest challenge in his transition might be prying the No. 1 jersey away from running back Soso Jamabo, who has also worn the same number early in camp.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Jamabo said. “But I’m happy with the number I’ve got right now. I’m sure he is too.”

Said Adams: “It doesn’t really matter what number I have to play in, but I would like to stay in my No. 1.”

Whatever number he wears, Adams figures to be among the Bruins’ top options to make a big play.

Quick hits

Freshman receiver Theo Howard clutched his hamstring late in practice and walked off the field after a Josh Rosen pass landed near his feet, but offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu said Howard should be fine. … It was not a good practice for the freshman kickers vying to replace Ka’imi Fairbairn. J.J. Molson made two of four field-goal attempts and Andrew Strauch made one of three.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch