Spring Break
Catching up with Cobbs
Richard White
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: SPORTS
Cobbs: "The guys at this level are a lot faster. There's a whole lot more of those great athletes. They're all on one team instead of being spread out like they are in college. That makes it a lot harder. There aren't as many creases or gaps to run in as far as the running back position is concerned."
NT Daily: How did playing for NT prepare you for the NFL?
Cobbs: "Obviously the schemes that we ran at North Texas are a little different than the schemes [in the NFL]. I'm asked to do a little more here than I was at North Texas as far as pass blocking and picking up safety blitzes was my biggest adjustment. As far as running the football and finding open creases, North Texas showed me just as much if not more to get me ready for this level. I felt like I was a step ahead of a lot of people coming into this league."
NT Daily: Have you been keeping up with your alma mater this season?
Cobbs: "I've been checking up on them. I watched the OU game, which was the only one on TV. It was rough. You never want to see your team get beat like that. It was a little depressing, but I knew they had a lot of young guys in a new system."
NT Daily: Having played with him for two seasons, what do you expect out of senior running back Jamario Thomas this year?
Cobbs: "He came out and obviously had a fantastic true freshman year [winning the national rushing title]. Maybe Jamario, the last couple seasons, got a slap of reality in college football that it's not as easy as it was in the beginning. He's been hampered by his hamstring the last couple seasons but when he's healthy, we all know what he can do."
NT Daily: What do you remember most from your time at NT?
Cobbs: "On the field coming in we had a tight-knit freshman group. We were really close. I'm still in touch with all those guys. The class that came in my freshman year, we won the Sun Belt all four seasons [2001-2004]."
NT Daily: What advice would you give the Mean Green (0-4) this season?
Cobbs: "It's all about pulling together. My freshman year we were 0-5 and we turned it around and made the New Orleans Bowl. Don't try and do more than you're supposed to. It's only a loss if you're not learning anything from it."
NT Daily: How did playing for NT prepare you for the NFL?
Cobbs: "Obviously the schemes that we ran at North Texas are a little different than the schemes [in the NFL]. I'm asked to do a little more here than I was at North Texas as far as pass blocking and picking up safety blitzes was my biggest adjustment. As far as running the football and finding open creases, North Texas showed me just as much if not more to get me ready for this level. I felt like I was a step ahead of a lot of people coming into this league."
NT Daily: Have you been keeping up with your alma mater this season?
Cobbs: "I've been checking up on them. I watched the OU game, which was the only one on TV. It was rough. You never want to see your team get beat like that. It was a little depressing, but I knew they had a lot of young guys in a new system."
NT Daily: Having played with him for two seasons, what do you expect out of senior running back Jamario Thomas this year?
Cobbs: "He came out and obviously had a fantastic true freshman year [winning the national rushing title]. Maybe Jamario, the last couple seasons, got a slap of reality in college football that it's not as easy as it was in the beginning. He's been hampered by his hamstring the last couple seasons but when he's healthy, we all know what he can do."
NT Daily: What do you remember most from your time at NT?
Cobbs: "On the field coming in we had a tight-knit freshman group. We were really close. I'm still in touch with all those guys. The class that came in my freshman year, we won the Sun Belt all four seasons [2001-2004]."
NT Daily: What advice would you give the Mean Green (0-4) this season?
Cobbs: "It's all about pulling together. My freshman year we were 0-5 and we turned it around and made the New Orleans Bowl. Don't try and do more than you're supposed to. It's only a loss if you're not learning anything from it."
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