Burnt Orange Nation

Vitals

Name: Adrian Colbert

Position: S

Height: 6'1''

Weight: 193

Speed: 4.40

High School: Mineral Wells High School, Mineral Wells (TX)

Rating (Rivals): Three out of five (5.7)

Offers

Texas (Committed 12/11/2011)

Texas A&M

TCU

Baylor

Texas Tech

Overview/recruitment

It's always exciting when a late prospect arrives on the radar who nobody's heard of before. When that prospect has some of the best film in the country and plays a need recruiting position in the class, you're ecstatic. When that prospect also already has an established relationship with your track coach and was planning to commit to your school as a track athlete before blowing up as a football star, you start to wonder if there's some divine intervention going on. Fortuitously for UT, that's exactly what happened with Colbert. His film popped up on the Net, everybody and their grandmother went crazy over him, and he eventually flipped to UT after visiting in December.

Scouting Report

Adrian Colbert (senior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)

Strengths

• Size: Colbert is the kind of size you build in an SEC laboratory for a safety. Not to mention an NFL laboratory. He's got a monster frame to add muscle onto and should easily be able to play at 215 or more
• Pure speed: The guy was the state 400-meter champ. 'Nuff said
• Closing speed: Assuming you watched any of the video above, this won't need much explanation. Elite, elite closing speed. He plays like he's shot out of a cannon when he comes up in run support. A true downfield run stuffer at safety
• Ball skills: Despite being an elite run stuffer at safety, Colbert is also very solid in coverage. Although he likely doesn't possess the hip flexibility to turn and run consistently as a cornerback or nickel back, his pure speed allows him to keep up with WRs down the field and his time spent on offense has gifted him with a good pair of hands and the juking ability to house an interception
• Violent streak: Colbert would be a favorite of broadcaster Chris Spielman, who's always explaining that tacklers should explode through the ball carrier and picture him bursting into a million little pieces. A tad scary, but I guess it worked for him. It seems to work for Adrian as well. Guy doesn't so much 'tackle' as 'detonate.' Like 2013 LB Brett Wade, when he hits you, you stop moving. Forward, at least
• Wrap-up tackling: Even though he's a huge hitter, Colbert doesn't forsake fundamentals, almost always wrapping up and driving his legs till the ball carrier is on the turf. No launching shoulder first hoping to score a knockout blow while compromising accuracy

Weaknesses

• Not really any discernible ones from film. I believe Hookem.com may have mentioned a minor lack of production on defense in one game viewed live, but he was also playing offense in addition to safety.
• Competition: Mineral Wells is only 3A ball, so there could be an adjustment period to going against opponents at his level of athleticism every play.

My Take

Colbert is my second favorite defensive player in the class and my favorite player overall because he's such a high-ceiling freak athlete, lifts weights at six in the morning in the offseason, and tweets under the sick handle ACtooCold1. Plus he goes by Flash, which is...well...'too Cold." A three-star ranking from Rivals is beyond laughable; Colbert is probably the third best safety in the nation after Landon Collins and Shaq Thompson. That's like being Larry Fitzgerald to Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson in the NFL. No shame, son. No shame. I fully expect Colbert to be a star safety at UT, though he might have to wait his turn behind Mykkele Thompson and Sheroid Evans. Also plan on him contributing early in an impactful manner on special teams. And possibly knocking a few people out along the way.

2012 RECRUITING FEATURES / NEWS

* Expectations of Early Enrollees
* Dorial Green-Beckham Eliminates Texas
* DE Bryce Cottrell Switches to Texas
* Interview with DT Malcolm Brown
* Texas Commits at International Bowl
* Do the Longhorns Have a Championship Caliber Class?
* Thomas Johnson De-Commits from UT

2012 RECRUITING SPOTLIGHTS

QB Connor Brewer, QB Jalen Overstreet, ATH Daje Johnson, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Marcus Johnson, OT Kennedy Estelle, OT Camrhon Huges, OG Curtis Riser, DE Caleb Bluiett, DE Hassan Ridgeway, DT Malcolm Brown, DT Paul Boyette, DT Alex Norman, LB Tim Cole, LB Peter Jinkens, LB Alex De La Torre, LB Dalton Santos, S Adrian Colbert, CB Orlando Thomas, CB Bryson Echols, K Nick Jordan