University of North Texas Athletics
Patrick Cobbs: Quietly Having An Impact In 2004
12/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Mean Green is headed to its fourth consecutive bowl appearance on Tuesday, Dec. 14 in
by Stephen Howard
Patrick Cobbs would never gloat about it, but last season he had toppled nearly every rushing record in school history.
Cobbs quietly led the country in yards and points per game and did it without making too many waves on the national scale. That was just fine with Cobbs who just went out every Saturday and left defenders and the record books in his wake. Opposing defensive coordinators sure paid attention to Cobbs. He was certain to give them plenty of sleepless nights in 2004 after putting on nine pounds of muscle in the off season to hurdle the few remaining feats that still awaited him.
All that would change with an innocent two-a-day handoff just 11 days before the season opener at
“This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through," said Cobbs. "It’s really tough sitting around watching other people do your job."
Hobbling around the sidelines this season Cobbs looked more like an engineering project than a football player. With a cast on his right hand and a brace on his left knee that made the scaffolding from the Denton Courthouse refurbishing look like a Tinkertoy set. Through all the pain, Cobbs has been right there with his team. Rather than stand around like a 200-pound cheerleader, he has taken it upon himself to mentor the stable of Mean Green running backs.
Cobbs helps the running backs learn when to cut, how to read defenses and how to protect their quarterback, all things that he excelled at.
"Having been in the middle of all of that, Patrick can give them even more help than we can," said
Cobbs has developed a special relationship with freshman phenom Jamario Thomas, who has flourished in Cobbs' absence. Thomas picked up right where Cobbs left off and is leading the nation in rushing this year, breaking Cobbs' record with 1,709 yards so far. Thomas has already tied or set three NCAA rushing records and needs just 155 yards to break the all-time NCAA single-season freshman rushing record set by Ron Dayne of
“He has been there when I need him all season, and I really trust him," Thomas said. "I definitely look up to him and I wouldn’t have made it this far without him."
Much like Cobbs, Thomas is a shy, small-town prospect whose eyes were as wide as the Texas sky when he heard the roar of the 83,000 fans on opening night.The two have become good friends since Cobbs hosted Thomas during his recruiting visits to Denton. They are roommates on road trips and Cobbs has been able to help Thomas refine his game.
Blessed with breakaway speed and an unbridled running style, Thomas has a tendency to become erratic on the field. After a run, Thomas jogs to the sideline and asks Cobbs what he could have done better. More often than not, the senior just tells him to settle down and focus on his game.
“Calming him down, helping with his cuts, watching film with him, Cobbs can relate to everything Thomas has been through,” said Dickey. “Patrick is the ultimate team player. He has been right there with Jamario, and has been his biggest supporter all year.”
The
Cobbs knows he will have to get back into shape to compete with Thomas for the running back position next season, where the Mean Green will have the two previous national rushing champions with room for only one in the backfield. Coaches and players agree that it is far too early to determine what the team will do about the situation next year. But, Flanigan says that while you hear some schools complain about a lack of talent you won't hear him grumble about having too much.
He says Cobbs is the perfect fit for any offense and that the team will find a way to get him the ball next season.
“Patrick is a football player. What he has, you can’t time it and you can’t weigh it. He is a tremendous athlete with great vision and talent, but the biggest thing that Patrick brings to the field is that he is a football player," Flanigan said. "He loves the game and he loves to compete and he loves to do what ever it takes for this team to win.”
Not only is he a football player, he is a scholar in the classroom as well. In May, Cobbs will graduate with a degree in applied arts and sciences and will enroll in grad school at
Trying to take these injuries as a blessing, Cobbs continues to work at coming back next season. The training staff slates his full recover for late December, and Cobbs says he will be more than ready by that time. Until then, he will continue to mentor Thomas and the Mean Green running backs and do anything he can to help the team win in
“I wish I was out there playing, but I couldn’t be more happy watching Jamario play like this. I’m not the kind of person that gets caught up in myself,” Cobbs said. “My goal is to come back next year and get a fifth championship ring.”
