By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – They came to Miami for different reasons, each hoping a single season as Hurricanes would make a difference when it came time to take the next steps in their careers.

K.J. Osborn had already proven himself a capable playmaker at Buffalo, where he’d totaled 1,490 yards and 12 touchdowns and twice earned second-team All-Mid-American Conference honors in four seasons with the Bulls.

But with one year of eligibility left, Osborn wanted to prove he could play – and succeed – at a Power Five program known for producing NFL talent. Miami, he felt, fit the bill.

Trevon Hill, meanwhile, needed a fresh start after a tough time at Virginia Tech.

Though Hill had become one of the Hokies’ most ferocious pass rushers, totaling 20 tackles for loss and 11 ½ sacks in 16 starts, he was dismissed from the program by head coach Justin Fuente in 2018.

The defensive end briefly considered starting his professional career, but the opportunity to play at Miami with its rich history and a coach in Manny Diaz who was willing to give him an opportunity was intriguing. So after graduating from Tech last summer, he headed south.

Now, on the eve of the NFL Draft, both Osborn and Hill remain hopeful that what they each accomplished in their graduate transfer seasons as Hurricanes will prove to scouts, coaches and general managers that they’re worthy of a roster spot.

I always wanted a Miami offer when I was in high school because of Sean Taylor, Ray Lewis and the list goes on and on with great guys. It was an honor to be able to put that ‘U’ on and represent those guys that were here in the past,” Hill said. “I wanted to try and be as much of a Cane as possible. … I told the [younger] guys about mistakes I’ve made in my past and what they should work on, because I know what it takes. … I tried to be more of a leader this year.”

Added Osborn, “Being at Miami, I think it helped a ton. This put my name on the map. When I was at Buffalo, it was just different. Playing at a school like Miami, that’s a big-time brand. It’s The U. You naturally get that national attention. Scouts and teams and everybody’s watching our games. … Being able to play in the ACC every week, I think definitely helped me put my name out there and put my play in front of some great people.”

Osborn and Hill’s efforts certainly helped make the Hurricanes better.

Osborn’s 50 catches, 547 receiving yards and 1,018 all-purpose yards last fall were all team highs. When called on to return punts, Osborn delivered, his 255 return yards often helping give the Hurricanes solid field position and Diaz noted, likely helped put him on the radar of some NFL personnel.

While playing on one of the top defensive fronts in the country, Hill posted 27 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

But Diaz, who recruited both Hill and Osborn to Miami, said on-field productivity wasn’t the only thing he saw from the two graduate transfers.

“They’re both hard workers. Both are great guys in the locker room. They’re team guys, guys that care about more than just what affects them,” Diaz said. “They understand how things affect other guys in the locker room and want to do what it takes to help the team win.”

Diaz also noted that both Osborn and Hill handled the situation of entering the program as graduate transfers with the kind of maturity he expects will help each succeed at the next level.

“The one thing we tell guys when they come in as a grad transfer is that it’s great preparation for the pros because you’re coming into a new locker room, you need to learn a new system, you’re in a new city and you’re out of your comfort zone,” Diaz said. “Guess what? That’s exactly what’s going to happen when you show up for your first minicamp as an NFL player.”

That maturity has likely also helped the two veteran players deal with one of the most unusual draft processes in history.

While both Osborn and Hill had the opportunity to showcase their skills at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic not only canceled their Pro Day workouts at Miami, but kept them from in-person visits or workouts with NFL decision makers.

Like every draft prospect around the country, they’ve had to rely on video chats with the NFL personnel they are hoping to impress and neither knows for certain what the future holds.

Still, both say that if given a chance, they’ll make the most of it – much the same way they capitalized on the opportunities they were given at Miami.

“The team that drafts me is getting, really, a guy that’s got a will to learn from anybody and everybody,” Hill said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a janitor or a coach. I feel like knowledge is power and the things we take in, the things we understand and we learn, are all big parts. I’m going to work hard. I’m somebody that loves the game and has that savage attitude when it comes to this football thing.”

Added Osborn, “I think at Miami, I showed I could adapt to any situation. A lot of teams speak highly of me and how impressive it was that I came in and became a captain so quickly. Along with adapting to any situation, I can play with any style player. I think they saw I was versatile, that I can be a leader, I can play inside, I can play outside, I can play special teams. I showed I can run and can play at the ACC level. They saw I could be consistent, no matter the score or what’s going on around me. They saw I could make the plays.”

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.”