.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
The Longshot Who Made It
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 19, 2014
What would it mean to break Laurence Maroney's record? What would it mean to be Minnesota's single-season rushing leader? What would it mean to do something that Maroney, Darrell Thompson, Thomas Hamner, Marion Barber III, Chris Darkins, Marion Barber, Tellis Redmon, Terry Jackson II, Amir Pinnix and all the other great Minnesota running backs never did?
Those questions would have seemed out of place 16 months ago when Cobb - and his 11 career carries for 65 yards in two years - was buried on the Minnesota depth chart and he didn't know when or if his time would ever come.
"I had to mature a little bit," said Cobb, referring to the difference between his first two years at Minnesota and his last two. "I had too much fun off the field."
As the Gophers were preparing for the 2012 Texas Bowl, Cobb was pondering his own future. He had one carry as a sophomore and watched classmate Donnell Kirkwood rush for nearly 1,000 yards that year.
Would he stay at Minnesota and work to be the best player he could be or would he take the easy route and transfer to a new school and start all over?
"I thought about transferring," said Cobb. "I thought about it every day. But luckily I had good people around me, especially Nate Griffin. He is the main reason I am here today. A lot of people do not know it, but he pushed me and texted me every day. I owe him a lot."
Nate Griffin is Minnesota's offensive quality control assistant. He played college football at Idaho, but had his career cut short because of an injury, so he could relate to where Cobb's emotions were.
"I told him that whatever you decide, it needs to be your choice," said Griffin. "It cannot be a rash decision because you are angry. You need to think about it. You can listen to your family and get input from everybody but it needs to be your choice and what you want to do because you are the one who will have to live it.
"I told him that if he decided to stay here that the road is long and hard and it may not work out the way you wanted to, but at the end of the day you stayed and stuck it out. It is not going to be easy. You know you are a long shot. You got a lot of things you need to change."
Cobb decided to stay and dedicated himself to football. He watched more film and trained his body and mind harder than ever before. He looked up to the guys on the team who had NFL dreams, just like he does.
"Seeing the older guys like MarQueis (Gray), Ra'Shede (Hageman) and Brock (Vereen) handle their business and have a chance at the NFL, that was something I always wanted to do," said Cobb. "I had two years left to play college football and if I didn't do it in these two years then I probably wouldn't get a chance. It just kind of hit me. I just wanted to play, so I had to do what I had to do."
Cobb worked his way onto the field and gashed the UNLV defense for a 60-yard run in the first game of his junior season. He earned more playing time and eventually became the starter in the eighth game of the season. Cobb would end the year with 1,202 yards on 237 carries, as he willed himself to become Minnesota's top running back and the school's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006.
He could have rested on his laurels and celebrated in his success after his junior year. After all, he was the longshot who made it. He was the one who always believed in himself when not everyone else did. But he didn't do any of that. Instead he went back to work. He knew he could get better.
"His maturity has gone to another level," said receiver coach Brian Anderson, who coached running backs during his first three years at Minnesota. "His work ethic has gone to another level. With success comes hunger to continue that success. That is part of being mature, not just saying that I rushed for 1,200 yards last year and started only six games. Well are you happy with that or do you want to do better? I think that has definitely helped him."
That maturity is now obvious. Ask him what his favorite game is and it is not the one where he rushed for the most yards or scored the most touchdowns. Instead, it is this year's Michigan game.
"As a team, it was a really good all-around game," he said. "Our team executed well and I had a couple of good blocks and a couple of good runs."
This year, Cobb has rushed for 1,350 yards on 254 carries. He passed his 2013 mark on 10 fewer carries. He is 114 yards away from tying Maroney's record, and he has two regular-season games and one bowl left this year to do it.
"If that happens, then I will be excited, but if it doesn't and we win then I will be alright too," said Cobb.
That certainly sounds like a mature young man.
The normally talkative and charismatic Cobb did not know what to say. Of course the senior from Killeen, Texas, has thought about it, but he has never before been put on the spot about it.
What would it mean to break Laurence Maroney's record? What would it mean to be Minnesota's single-season rushing leader? What would it mean to do something that Maroney, Darrell Thompson, Thomas Hamner, Marion Barber III, Chris Darkins, Marion Barber, Tellis Redmon, Terry Jackson II, Amir Pinnix and all the other great Minnesota running backs never did?
Those questions would have seemed out of place 16 months ago when Cobb - and his 11 career carries for 65 yards in two years - was buried on the Minnesota depth chart and he didn't know when or if his time would ever come.
"I had to mature a little bit," said Cobb, referring to the difference between his first two years at Minnesota and his last two. "I had too much fun off the field."
As the Gophers were preparing for the 2012 Texas Bowl, Cobb was pondering his own future. He had one carry as a sophomore and watched classmate Donnell Kirkwood rush for nearly 1,000 yards that year.
Would he stay at Minnesota and work to be the best player he could be or would he take the easy route and transfer to a new school and start all over?
"I thought about transferring," said Cobb. "I thought about it every day. But luckily I had good people around me, especially Nate Griffin. He is the main reason I am here today. A lot of people do not know it, but he pushed me and texted me every day. I owe him a lot."
Nate Griffin is Minnesota's offensive quality control assistant. He played college football at Idaho, but had his career cut short because of an injury, so he could relate to where Cobb's emotions were.
"I told him that whatever you decide, it needs to be your choice," said Griffin. "It cannot be a rash decision because you are angry. You need to think about it. You can listen to your family and get input from everybody but it needs to be your choice and what you want to do because you are the one who will have to live it.
"I told him that if he decided to stay here that the road is long and hard and it may not work out the way you wanted to, but at the end of the day you stayed and stuck it out. It is not going to be easy. You know you are a long shot. You got a lot of things you need to change."
Cobb decided to stay and dedicated himself to football. He watched more film and trained his body and mind harder than ever before. He looked up to the guys on the team who had NFL dreams, just like he does.
"Seeing the older guys like MarQueis (Gray), Ra'Shede (Hageman) and Brock (Vereen) handle their business and have a chance at the NFL, that was something I always wanted to do," said Cobb. "I had two years left to play college football and if I didn't do it in these two years then I probably wouldn't get a chance. It just kind of hit me. I just wanted to play, so I had to do what I had to do."
Cobb worked his way onto the field and gashed the UNLV defense for a 60-yard run in the first game of his junior season. He earned more playing time and eventually became the starter in the eighth game of the season. Cobb would end the year with 1,202 yards on 237 carries, as he willed himself to become Minnesota's top running back and the school's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006.
He could have rested on his laurels and celebrated in his success after his junior year. After all, he was the longshot who made it. He was the one who always believed in himself when not everyone else did. But he didn't do any of that. Instead he went back to work. He knew he could get better.
"His maturity has gone to another level," said receiver coach Brian Anderson, who coached running backs during his first three years at Minnesota. "His work ethic has gone to another level. With success comes hunger to continue that success. That is part of being mature, not just saying that I rushed for 1,200 yards last year and started only six games. Well are you happy with that or do you want to do better? I think that has definitely helped him."
That maturity is now obvious. Ask him what his favorite game is and it is not the one where he rushed for the most yards or scored the most touchdowns. Instead, it is this year's Michigan game.
"As a team, it was a really good all-around game," he said. "Our team executed well and I had a couple of good blocks and a couple of good runs."
This year, Cobb has rushed for 1,350 yards on 254 carries. He passed his 2013 mark on 10 fewer carries. He is 114 yards away from tying Maroney's record, and he has two regular-season games and one bowl left this year to do it.
"If that happens, then I will be excited, but if it doesn't and we win then I will be alright too," said Cobb.
That certainly sounds like a mature young man.
Players Mentioned
Running Back
/ Football
Running Back
/ FootballCoach Fleck Postgame at Rate Bowl
Tuesday, January 06
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Win Ninth Straight Bowl
Friday, January 02
2025 Koi Perich Highlights
Monday, December 29
Anthony Smith - Rate Bowl
Monday, December 29