Adrian Colbert- What Was Meant To Stop Me Only Enhanced Me (The Next Level)

I explain what the feature article will consist of and the purpose of it. He points how excited and appreciative he is. Before we start, he mentions how much he loves football and the position that he is in.

Adrian Colbert is a defensive back who’s originally from Wichita Falls, Texas. Having 14 brothers and sisters, the NFL prospect is familiar with sharing the spotlight and being a great teammate. He also possessed his athleticism from his parents. “My mom ran track and my father also played football,” says Colbert. 

The Texas native started playing football at the age of five. Falling in love with the game from a young age, it was just more than curricular activity. “Wichita Falls is not known for many great things and football kept me out of trouble.”

Showing his athletic ability in high school, Colbert played running back, special teams, cornerback and safety. Excelling in every aspect, that helped him get highly recruited by Texas University as a defensive back. 

Colbert is a physical defensive back that possesses ball skills that makes him a threat to intercept the ball or at least knock it away from the receiver. His awareness keeps him always engaged in every play. His ability to run with any and every receiver he faces gives him an edge before the play starts. 

“I love playing defensive back because of the physical nature that it requires,” says Colbert. The talented cornerback believes that being physical is one of his best attributes. I’m smart, a real good tackler in the open field and I don’t think there’s anybody in the world that can beat me,” says Colbert. 

A very good tackler, hitting is one of Colbert’s favorite part about playing defense. He’s been inspired since his high school days by his favorite player Earl Thomas, safety for the Seattle Seahawks. Being a big fan of his play on the field and how he approaches the game is not the only reasons he’s inspired by Thomas.

“Since he’s [Thomas] been in the league, he’s had some major injuries but he comes back hungrier, faster and stronger than he was before,” stated Colbert. 

“I love playing defensive back because of the physical nature that it requires,”

Dealing with injuries and bouncing back has been all too familiar with Colbert. At the age of nine, Colbert was hit by a car. “By the grace of God, I’m still able to play football. That accident was suppose to stop me from playing football forever,” remembers Colbert. That wasn’t the only significant result from the accident.

The resilient athlete grew up with his parents being separated. His father had started living a life that was headed down the wrong path until the day of that accident. From that day on, his father changed his life not only for himself but to make sure Colbert grew up in a stable environment and had the support of his father.  

“My father is the biggest inspiration in my life. Once I got hit by that car, he changed his life by getting married and he moved me out of my neighborhood.” Colbert’s old neighborhood consisted of lot of gang affiliation and drug paraphernalia. “All of my friends back home got dads but they’re dads had them selling drugs. “My dad didn’t want that for me, He wanted to break the mode that was around me,” stated Colbert.

“He always told me to do the opposite of him and he instilled that in me from a young age.” 

Going into college, the young phoneme committed to Texas University. He was redshirted his freshman year but that didn’t stop him from getting better. During his tenure in Texas, Colbert felt like his destiny of playing division I football for the Longhorns was validated but he wasn’t as happy as he thought he would be. 

“With all of the coaching changes there, it was just an uncomfortable time there and I was just miserable,” stated Colbert. Because of the lack of stability at Texas on the coaching staff, Colbert was force to transfer. The redshirt senior received a call from a representative from Miami University stating they might have an opportunity to bring him on. “I thought, man if this does happen, this is meant to be, said Colbert. “God is taking me out of this horrible situation and bringing me into a great situation. It felt like paradise.”

The feeling of redemption quickly turned into sorrow early in the season. Going into the second week of the season, Colbert slightly tore his lateral meniscus which kept him out two weeks. Later during the season, the Hurricanes traveled to South Bend, Indiana to face the Notre Dame Irish in a nationally televised game. 

“God is taking me out of this horrible situation and bringing me into a great situation.”

The Texas product had his best game of his career. He led the Hurricanes with six tackles (all solo), one tackle for loss and two pass breakups. Everything seemed to be going great until he broke his forearm in the fourth quarter that forced him to miss the rest of the season.

“At first, I was down on myself and started to question a lot of stuff like is this in my future or am I suppose to be playing football. I just prayed a lot,” said Colbert. The redshirt senior remembered what he had endured in the past that gave him motivation.

“It really brought me back to when I got hit by the car which made me realize I overcame worse. I was determined to come back stronger.” Colbert was able to battle back and play in the Russell Athletic Bowl against the West Virginia Mountaineers. It was a testament to his hard work and dedication that expressed his love and passion for the game.

Although he had limited playing time in his last year of college, teams have shown interest in the NFL prospect. He has most recently visited the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. He’s also received interest form the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. 

Colbert realizes that his time is now and he has a golden opportunity to make his dream come true. As grateful as he is for this chance to play in the NFL, his dreams and goals doesn’t just stop there. “I want to win a Super Bowl, become All-Pro, I want go to the Pro Bowl. All I want to do is lead.”