Jose Borregales is unafraid. He’s a gambler. Not in the literal sense of blackjack and craps at the casino. Borregales bets on himself.

The University of Miami kicker has a chance to be the first specialist selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night, and he has that chance largely because of a bet he made on himself in college when he transferred from Florida International to Miami for his senior season in an effort to raise his profile by kicking on a bigger stage.

Adding to the dynamics of his story, being raised in Miami by his mother after coming to the United States from Venezuela at age 6, Borregales always dreamed of playing for the Hurricanes, who happened to ignore him in the recruiting process when he was in high school.

Borregales not only raised his profile by playing at Miami and realized a lifelong dream in the process, but also he got better as a kicker, making 18-of-20 field goals and all 35 of his extra points. He won the Lou Groza Award, which recognizes the nation’s top collegiate kicker.

Borregales was a standout kicker at FIU, the only college to recruit him out of high school and played three years for the Panthers, making 50-of-66 field goals and scoring 281 points. But he was better at Miami, which is why he’s the top candidate to become the first kicker drafted.

“The level of competition is a lot higher, the crowds are a lot bigger, games are televised and there’s more big-time pressure,’’ Borregales told The Post this week. “That’s one of the main reasons why I transferred, to show that I can do this at the next level and show NFL teams not to pass on me.’’

The beauty of Borregales’ story is in his journey and the random path that led him to this draft.

When he was a kid in Venezuela, he played soccer on concrete. When he came to Miami, his mother signed him up to play soccer on grass, which he said “was kind of weird for me.’’

When he was 9, his mother took him and his younger brother, Andres (now a freshman kicker at Miami), to a park, where they saw kids playing American football in helmets and uniforms.

“The kids on the field were running around with what, to me back then, looked like a weird-shaped ball, because I didn’t know what football was,’’ Borregales said. “And they were wearing these helmets, which I thought was so cool that I told my mom I wanted to put one on. Ultimately, she ended signing me up for football, even though I didn’t know anything about it, just so I could wear a helmet.

“One practice, the coach said, ‘We need a kicker, so let’s have a tryout and see who can kick the farthest.’ Me with my soccer background, obviously I won that job. That’s how all started, and I kept getting better and better, and here I am now.’’

Life is all about the path you take.

When Borregales was ignored by his dream school, he went to FIU. In November 2019, FIU upset Miami 30-24, and Borregales kicked field goals of 29, 50 and 53 yards in the victory.

“Coming into that night, I kind of had a feeling that I had to show up this game and I would,’’ Borregales recalled. “I didn’t know I was going to have those type of kicks, but they just showed up. It was like an out-of-body experience and my muscle memory took over, and I made the kicks I had to make and we ended up winning the game.’’

After the 2019 season, Borregales entered the collegiate transfer window with the hope of finishing his career at Miami, where he had wanted to begin it, and help elevate his chances of drawing NFL interest.

When Hurricanes special teams coordinator Jonathan Patke saw Borregales’ name in the portal, he sent him a direct message on Twitter: simply the emoji of two eyeballs.

“That sealed the deal,’’ Borregales said. “I was coming into UM knowing this is my last year [in college], so I’ve got to show up now because I won’t have any more chances. I took advantage of that, and it paid off in the end.’’