Kendall Hinton received two requests in recent months that gave him chances to shine: to be the emergency quarterback for the Denver Broncos and to be one of three commencement speakers at his alma mater Wake Forest.

Hinton, a wide receiver on the practice squad, made his NFL debut last November as the Broncos’ fourth starting quarterback when Denver faced the New Orleans Saints.

Lack of preparation and a whirlwind of hitting the field for the first time since his Demon Deacon days in 2017 marked his less-than-stellar start. But that didn’t stop him from relishing in the opportunity to play professional football.

Fast forward to nearly six months later, Hinton was speaking to the hundreds of graduates at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based school about his dream of playing as a quarterback and the unlikely way he became one.

In his speech Sunday, Hinton spoke of the different kinds of struggles that the graduates had overcome to get their degrees.

“It is that for the first time, we have a group of students who have endured ambiguity and adversity on an unprecedented scale,” he said in the video message. “So, it’s a great honor to speak in front of such a preserving group of leaders.” Also speaking at commencement were Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and

Hinton went on to detail his journey through football and how young people map out their futures only to feel dejected when things don’t go their way.

“Everyone’s path is unique, so embrace every twist and turn on your journey,” Hinton said.

Watch his full commencement speech below:

“In order to create a story that hasn’t been written, we must embrace the unknown.” – @Kendall_Hinton2

An amazing #WFUGrad Commencement message pic.twitter.com/2IhCm49nuG

— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) May 17, 2021