Osborn happy to be a ‘big brother’
Transfer from Buffalo veteran presence to Canes’ young WRs
CORAL GABLES — The message on Mike Harley’s phone after the Hurricanes wrapped up their first day of spring practice was simple.
“Good work,” fellow receiver K.J. Osborn had written, before providing Harley with encouragement and reminding the rising junior of some of the things the two should work on together to continue improving.
It was, Harley said, an appreciated lift from an experienced veteran.
“That’s what we needed, that leadership,” Harley said of Osborn, a former standout at Buffalo who transferred to Miami in January and has quickly emerged as a veteran presence on the Hurricanes’ offense. “Without him coming in, it was just me and Evidence [Njoku] and Jeff Thomas. We would have been the older guys.
“But it’s a great feeling to have that older guy that’s been there for like four, five years. He’s teaching us knowledge. He’s pushing us more. … He’s a big brother to me and the rest of the guys.”
Though he was the defensive coordinator last season and didn’t work with the offense very much, Miami coach Manny Diaz understood the Hurricanes receivers would benefit from that kind of brotherly push.
While Harley, Thomas, Njoku, Mark Pope, Brian Hightower and the rest of the Hurricanes’ pass catchers have the talent, speed and athleticism to make big plays, there was a lack of maturity in the receivers room that took its toll on both the entire offense and the receivers corps itself.
Thomas briefly left the program and publicly refuted former coach Mark Richt’s statement that he’d been dismissed. Other players vented publicly on social media about their lack of playing time and frustration with Miami’s offensive struggles.
While the Hurricanes were slogging through a 7-6 season last fall, Osborn was earning second-team AllMAC honors at Buffalo after catching 53 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns.
In a game against Temple — where current Hurricanes strength coach David Feeley was working at the time — he averaged 9.7 yards per catch in the Bulls’ win, something Feeley hadn’t forgotten when the two met in Coral Gables months later.
“He ruined a Saturday for me and the Temple Owls, personally,” Feeley said of Osborn last month. “Buffalo kicked our butts, and he’s a big reason why. I can still see him running … he might still be running at Lincoln Financial [Field].”
Once his senior season at Buffalo ended and he’d completed his degree in sociology, Osborn wanted to try playing on a bigger stage. He opted as a graduate transfer to seek opportunities and at trio of ACC schools — Miami, Florida State and North Carolina — beckoned. Miami and Florida State, which offered him the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in criminal justice, quickly became his top choices.
The Hurricanes, thanks in part to former receivers coach Ron Dugans and the newly promoted Diaz seemed a perfect fit, even after Miami’s offense struggled in 2018.
“It was a good fit for me, I feel like. With coach Diaz, I knew that whoever he brought in as the [offensive coordinator] was going to get it done,” Osborn said. “Last year was last year. We’re excited about this year. Whoever the quarterback is, it’s going to be a good situation. We’re going to get it fixed.”
As soon as he arrived in Coral Gables, Osborn threw himself into Miami’s offseason workout program, with Feeley noting he was one of the players who was constantly in the weight room. He spent large chunks of his free time catching passes in Miami’s indoor practice facility with the help of a JUGS machine.
Before long, his fellow receivers noticed and began joining him for extra work.
“What happens is K.J.’s doing it and all of a sudden, another guy will show up and another guy will do it, and he starts to create habits in a room that didn’t really have habits,” Diaz said. “Then he came out [Tuesday] and had a great day of practice, which was not a surprise to any of us. He’s doing exactly what we thought in terms of helping us change the culture of the wide receiver room.”
Even the players who are trying to defend Osborn in practice have noticed the 6-foot, 205-pound receiver’s dedication and are taking cues from not only what Osborn does on the field, but off of it.
“He was a leader the first day he stepped on campus. His work ethic is really what separates him from everyone else,” cornerback Trajan Bandy said. “After practice he catches a million balls. He gets after it. He’s a good kid.”
As if to prove Bandy’s point, once the Hurricanes wrapped up their second practice of the spring on Wednesday and Osborn walked away from his first media session with South Florida reporters, the receiver met Hurricanes quarterback Tate Martell at midfield of the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility.
Moments later, Osborn was catching passes from the Ohio State transfer.
The rest of their teammates had already left the building.
“Obviously, when you come in, you’ve got to earn your spot. You’ve got to earn it,” Osborn said. “Nothing is going to be given to you.”