Draft Rewind: Colbert Makes Most of Opportunity

DAVIE, Fla. – Long odds have never really fazed Adrian Colbert.

The former Hurricanes cornerback was a precocious 9-year-old youth football player when he was struck by a car while out riding his bicycle with some friends.

He spent weeks in the hospital recovering from injuries so severe doctors told his family the young boy would never run again, let alone play football or take any more bike rides.

That wasn’t a reality Colbert was ready to accept, even as a child.

“I was just a kid and I didn’t know what to think,” Colbert recalled. “But literally, after I got out of the hospital, I went and rode my bike again.”

He’d play football again, too – well enough that he’d eventually earn a scholarship from the flagship program in his home state, the University of Texas. And later, he’d start as a graduate transfer at the University of Miami.

So, when his college career ended and he turned his focus to preparing for the 2017 NFL Draft, Colbert approached the process with measured optimism.

He’d missed five games during his redshirt senior season with the Hurricanes because of injuries, so he knew the film he’d put together was limited. And he hadn’t earned an invitation to the league’s scouting combine, which Colbert knew put him at a disadvantage.

Still, he had had a solid showing at UM’s Pro Day and Colbert was hopeful that would be enough to catch an NFL team’s interest. He knew all he needed was a chance.

It took six rounds and hearing 228 names called before his for that chance to finally come.

In the seventh and final round of the draft – hours after some teams had expressed interest in signing him as an undrafted free agent – John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers called.

“It was an indescribable feeling, like I had a million pounds taken off my shoulders,” said Colbert, who is now back in South Florida with the Miami Dolphins. “I was so happy I started crying. I think I even jumped in the ocean. It was great. You think about my story, and all the obstacles and trials and tribulations and you’re just so thankful. You thank God, you thank the University of Miami. …

“That day was a huge roller coaster. A huge weight off my back. I’d always wanted to go to the NFL and that day was the day that dream came true.”

As relieved as he was to be drafted, though, it didn’t take long for Colbert to realize that, once again, the odds were stacked against him.

Getting that call from the 49ers was just the first step in a new journey. Now, there was work to be done if Colbert – who’d had 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one interception during his lone season at Miami – was to actually make the team’s roster, let alone play in a game.

Colbert arrived in Santa Clara as a cornerback, having played that position at Miami. After playing corner during rookie minicamp, organized team activities and part of training camp, the 49ers asked him to transition to safety.

It was a move Colbert knew would put him behind more established players, who, like him were vying for a coveted roster spot.

Again, though, he pushed through.

“I did a lot of technical work with some of the corners that were there, then I had to change entire positions, which wasn’t really new to me, but it was still a transition I had to make,” Colbert said. “It wasn’t like high school or college, where you’d just go out there and play. You really have to learn the scheme and you have to work because there are guys on that team that have already made plays in the league and will that continue to make plays in the league.

“I had to compete against them and I had to compete against myself to grow. That was the mindset I had to have. … They’re a step ahead, so I have to put in the extra work.”

Colbert’s effort, his fight, paid off – again.

The safety not only made the 49ers roster, but by the end of his rookie season was a starter.

He totaled 37 tackles, forced two fumbles and San Francisco ended the year on a five-game win streak that seemed to bode well for both Colbert and the 49ers heading into the 2018 season.

Back in South Florida, the coach who knew Colbert’s story well and who’d recruited him to both Texas and Miami, was hardly surprised by what had played out on the West Coast.

“Adrian was one of the most remarkable football stories around. I mean, he survived a major trauma growing up. He became a big-time high school athlete, got the dream offer that every kid in that state wants and became a defensive back at the University of Texas,” Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz said. “And then, by the later part of his career there, he’s told he doesn’t have a future in the game of football. … He stared that reality in the face and chose to do something about it. I think that’s the theme of his whole story.”

Diaz continued, “He comes to Miami, provides leadership and toughness in our secondary. I mean, everybody still remembers the plays he made against West Virginia in our bowl game in Orlando and then he’s told again, maybe he’s not good enough. But he makes [an NFL] team and ends up back in the starting lineup. … Every time someone tells him he can’t, he keeps finding ways to prove them wrong.”

Colbert finds himself, once again, in a somewhat similar situation.

An ankle injury ended his 2018 season in San Francisco and after he injured his hamstring last year, he was released by the 49ers. After a brief stint in Seattle, he joined the Dolphins in November and started five of the six games in which he played.

He had 22 tackles and defended two passes for Miami, which re-signed him to a one-year deal in March.

Colbert has embraced his new opportunity in the community he says has become a second home for him. He’s raised money for the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and has tried to connect with Miami fans through social media, video games and online cycling challenges while most South Floridians have been quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before Miami’s campus was closed, Colbert made multiple visits to Coral Gables to check in with both Diaz and Hurricanes safeties coach Ephraim Banda, another coach Colbert credits with helping him reach this point in his career.

“Those guys knew me before I could backpedal,” Colbert laughed. “That’s the kind of relationship I’ve built with them over nine, almost 10 years. It makes this more of a home than anywhere.”

Now, with the draft once again looming, Colbert can’t but think about his journey. He understands some of the current draft-eligible Hurricanes may be feeling some of the same doubts he experienced three years ago when all he wanted was a chance.

His advice to those players is simple.

“It’s not about how you start or where you start. It’s about how you finish,” Colbert said. “As long as you go out and prove your worth, you’re going to be great. You have to have faith and know that God has a plan for you and that plan can’t be stopped by any man.

“Go out there and put on for your city, put on for you and nobody else. … You’re going to be great and the draft is just the starting spot.”