Adrian Colbert feels comfortable at Miami. We’ll soon find out whether that’s a good thing.
Colbert, a safety-turned-cornerback who graduated from Texas early and transferred to UM, reunited with his former defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, and Diaz assistant Ephraim Banda, now in his first year as the Hurricanes’ safeties coach. He fit in seamlessly to Miami’s defense, the same aggressive 4-3 formation Diaz has always run.
A former track competitor at Texas, Colbert brought instant speed to a defensive backs unit that lost starters Artie Burns, Tracy Howard and Deon Bush. Given those losses, Colbert’s experience — he played in 38 games for the Longhorns — is valuable. Diaz has commented that he likes the fact Colbert has experienced coaching changes, referring to his own termination in 2013 and the subsequent swap of head coach Mack Brown for Charlie Strong.
But is Miami in good shape when a defensive back who fell out of favor at Texas suddenly becomes a potential starter at Miami? Is it a positive when a guy who couldn’t get in the rotation in Austin shows up and is running stride-for-stride with Stacy Coley, the fastest receiver in Coral Gables?
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