'We must embrace a story that hasn't been written': Kendall Hinton reflects on historic moment during Wake Forest commencement speech

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"My journey up to today has taught me that we must embrace a story that hasn't been written," Hinton said in his commencement speech. "For many of us, coming out of college, we have some idea of how we want our futures to play out, whether that be our first job or how much money we plan to save in X amount of years. And by doing so, we put ourselves in these parameters, and if anything deviates from that plan, we often times feel defeated or unable to adapt. In order to create a story that hasn't been written, we must embrace the unknown."


Then he went into his own path — how he started playing Pop Warner football with quarterback dreams but was placed at fullback, how he encountered struggles at quarterback in college and how he changed positions and began his career in the NFL — and how he eventually encountered the strange and unbelievable opportunity to play the position for a game in the NFL.


That Saturday night when the Broncos called him and asked if he'd play quarterback would change his life, but it would only come about because of Hinton's willingness to put himself in what must have been an enticing yet uncomfortable position, playing a game at a position he hadn't played in years against one of the top defenses.


"As I tried my best to prepare that night and calm my nerves, it dawned on me," Hinton said in his speech. "At every single stage of my life, there has been a moment where I've had the choice to embrace uncertainty or stay in my parameters. Always choose uncertainty."


Though the Broncos didn't get the win and Hinton didn't magically walk onto the field with only about 12 hours of preparation to throw for 300 yards, his story has served as an inspiration for many who tuned in to watch him take the field.


The idea of turning that opportunity down, though, never occurred to him, Hinton says. And ever since that day in November, he hasn't thought about what his life would have been like had he not taken this fork in the road.


"Honestly, I haven't," Hinton says. "… I think that being able to be an inspiration has been the biggest thing. Just being able to get my story out is what this opportunity has given me the most, being able to get the story out and allow others to find motivation and whatever it is that I experienced. I think that's been the biggest thing in all of it."