By LARRY VAUGHT
Randall Cobb hugged a few Tennessee players, glanced around the stadium and walked off the field for what could have been his final regular season game at Kentucky here Saturday.
Cobb had caught 13 passes for 116 yards and rushed five times for 25 yards against Tennessee to increase his all-purpose yardage to 2,192 this season, the second best mark in Southeastern Conference history behind the 2,310 yards Darren McFadden of Arkansas had.
However, Tennessee won 24-14, another bitter pill for the Alcoa, Tenn., native to swallow, especially since this was the first game this year he had not been responsible for a rushing, receiving or passing touchdown.
“We were in positions and did not capitalize,†said Cobb as media members surrounded him. “What it comes down to is execution and we didn’t do that.â€Â
He said his emotions were “indescribable†after the loss.
“We turned the ball over in criticual times. They did what they had to do to beat us and found a way to win, something we couldn’t do,†the junior receiver said.
Now Cobb has a relatively quick decision to make. He’s going to have his NFL draft status evaluated and will have until Jan. 15 to decide whether to declare for the draft or come back to UK for a final season when he won’t have quarterback Mike Hartline, running back Derrick Locke or recevier Chris Matthews, all seniors, back with him on offense.
“I’ve got no timetable other than Jan. 15,†Cobb said. “There are a lot of pros and cons to weight. A lot will have to do with my family and things coming up next year. There’s also going to be controversy in the NFL about a possible lockout.
“I have decisions to make and will have to do my homework and then hopefully make the right decisions.â€Â
22 Responses to Cobb now has big decision to make about future
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He’s already gone Larry. Trust me on this. People who know are certain of this. He isn’t really happy with this program or some of his coaches and teammates. He’ll never say it publically (because he, unlike Hartline, doesn’t want to push the blame on other people) but it’s the truth.
What a pathetic football program we have and a coaching staff that is subpar. Clean house now before everything Rich built (and hope to God we can find a Mike Bellotti type) is gone. Joker will not be around to see his incoming recruits graduate.
I’m very glad that Cobb didn’t get hurt. Joker has a chance to make some needed coaching change.
J,you are wrong that the football program is pathetic it just in my opinion we needed a quarterback that could run our offense in more the Joker has set up. Hartline just didn’t have that and hopefully the up coming highly QB’s that he recruited will provide the answer.Cobb will be back due to the lockout and plus he wants to be on the team that will finally beat Tenn.
If he is smart, Randall will rack up a few all-purpose yards running straight into the draft.
I cant believe I am saying this. But Cobb should go. (You are on my short list of favorite players to ever wear the blue Randall).
This team doesnt seem like one that is playing for each other, playing together, and watching out for each other. There is something VERY wrong with the chemistry of this team. I hope there are some others that leave or are asked to leave beyond the seniors. I saw some things today that I shouldnt have seen in a game like this especially with the streak on the line and a Big bowl still at stake. Joker needs to get EVERYONE onboard and on the same page. There are some that should have been kicked off the team this year and the blame lies at Jokers feet and no one else.
Hopefully Cobb will have more confidence in our quarterback next year and want to come back.
If people knew what was going on behind the scenes and with this team they’d want Joker fired tomorrow. Well, many already do. The honeymoon is over now and the heat is on.
All is not well in Lexington. Might as well strike now and go after Gus Malzhan + an innovative, young defensive mind.
Joker has not had this team believing in him or his staff all year. Our program is not pathetic but the coaching and the results certainly are.
There are fans like you J’ who probably never wanted Joker as our head coach. Have you ever had anything positive to say on this message board. Sure can’t remember anything. You remind me of a basketball writer from Lexington with the Herald.
We didn’t have the kind of year some expected. Before the season started fans were predicting 10-2 or 9-3. I just wonder if they are in their right minds. A first year coach with so many parts to replace on defense and yet we will be in the running for SEC Champs. Give the man a chance.
I tend to agree about Cobb. I really do believe he will go to the draft, but I don’t think we will know until after the bowl game in Birmingham.
There does seem to be a lot of behind the scenes turmoil and lot of unhappy players. But 6-6 when you should have won more can do that
I have heard of dumb coaching but none quite as bad as spending an off week on next yrs.team instead of preparing for the most important game of the season—also until the players call Joe Phillips “COACH” instead of “JOKER” he will remain abuddy and not a leader.
Cobb will go because he has no reason to optimistically believe that returning will yield anything other than another 7-5 or 6-6 bowl season with losses to Florida and Tennessee.
I don’t have any insight into J’s so called behind the scenes knowledge, but I know Cobb will tough to replace and I will be sad to see him go.
Trevethan is gone as well. Players are not happy, parents are not happy and Joker Phillips isn’t the man we want leading this program from what I’ve been told by a former player who was under him and the family of a current one. I don’t care if you believe it or not but Joker Phillips was a mistake. He’s got good intentions but he’s not right for this job.
Cobb should go for the sake of his pro career. With a new young starting QB whether it is Moss or Newton, is not enough incentive for cobb to stick around. J until otherwise I hear something negative from the players directly about Joker, I think I will stand by him.
I, too, do believe Cobb is gone. Not sure about Danny, but that would not surprise me, either. And if both leave, it’s a huge, huge blow to next year’s team, one that Joker may not survive
Larry I understand our faithful being down on this team. I’ve never heard you though so down on the Cat’s. This was a bad year for our football team. There isn’t a part of this team that doesn’t deserve blame and that includes the coach’s. The way I judge a coaching staff is the improvement made between the first game and the last. This team was still making the same mistakes at the end of the season it made at the beginning. I still think Joker is the right man for the job but he did himself no favors in his first year.
If Randall and Danny leave it will hurt this team severely. I’m hoping they chose to stay but I wish them the best if they decide to go Pro. When I watched Demarcus the other night the kid in him we came to enjoy seemed to be gone. The price you pay for becoming a man. I sure hope these players make the right decision for themselves.
Hard not to be down after watching the mistakes this team made and the lack of effort I felt I saw at times in spite of what the coaches thought they saw
I cannot disagree with you Larry about the effort from some of the players, not all. I wonder was there decension on this team, from Hartline being chosen the starting quarterback, instead of Morgan.
UKFAN, I have no idea what caused issues on this team, but it is clear that there have been problems on this team as evidenced by the large number of disciplinary incidences that have occurred from the first game through the last game. I can’t recall a single year in the past that had that many issues emerging from the team.
If the Hartline decision is the source of these problems that is truly sad because the players obviously would not be trusting their coaches’ decision about player assignments. Furthermore, if that is the case, doesn’t Mike’s actual on the field performance this year scream back at the disgruntled players that the Coaches may be right at some point along the way?
This season is over. Mike Hartline won the job by way of open competition in the Spring and again in August. Mike Hartline’s performance exceeded any reasonable expectation based on his prior two seasons by a large margin, and exceeded everything that his critics argued he was capable of delivering. This team finished 6-6. I had believed 7-5 all season long, but for some reason this team did not improve in its areas of weakness as the season wore on like winners usually do, and finished with one fewer wins, in my opinion, as a result of that. Hartline made mistakes, costly mistakes along the way. So did Cobb. So did Locke. So did the entire defense. So did all of the special teams units. So did each of the offensive linemen. So did all of the other running backs. So did all the other receivers.
That is the nature of life. We all make mistakes that hurt us, and our associates. Our associates make mistakes that cost us and them too. Look at any team in America that finished 5-7, 6-6, or 7-5 and you will find a similar tale to tell about mistakes.
Yet, the Hartline argument continues to rage around the Big Blue Nation, and this I simply do not understand.
If the players on this team “quit” or did not deliver their best efforts this season because Mike Hartline was the QB, then each and every one of those players must pass on through this program before it has any chance of taking the next step into the promised land, which means possibly 3 to 4 more years of wandering in the wilderness if some of these quitters are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, or Joker must simply take steps to eliminate them from the program now so he can begin to establish the team oriented culture that winning requires.
I so agree that winning requires a “TEAM-oriented” culture. Perhaps some who do not fall into that description will no longer be a part of the program. Also, as I read here, I’m thinking that some players’ families may possibly be thinking of their son’s interests to the extent of putting the TEAM at risk.
Yes, I am bothered by the gossip I am reading here right now — VERY bothered. J speaks of “what Coach Brooks had built,” but I well remember how he had written of how Brooks had essentially not even built anything here at Kentucky. Too, as Larry said, when a team is not winning games it had expected to win, sure, there are going to be unhappy players. That basically happens everywhere and under the leadership of most coaches in that situation. Too, sure, some families are not going to like particular coaches, the amount of playing time for a particular player, etc. — and, again, I see nothing helpful to my beloved program by publicly sharing such sentiment, sentiment that essentially happens everywhere, but behind closed doors, when not enough winning occurs. Sharing such, whether or not legitimate to any extent, can only hurt the program I love. FWIW (which is, understandably, nothing), such gossip’s being here troubles me –and that it’s here only a couple of months prior to recruiting troubles me even more. I’m out of here. GO CATS!
I do want to add that I hope Randall Cobb makes the best decision for himself. That’s what I want for every Wildcat who gives of himself for our program — and, goodness, what Randall Cobb, in particular, has given. Randall Cobb’s HEART is so appreciated by this fan, and I wish him all the LUCK in the world in his future. I had even forgotten the original topic after reading some of the other material here. GO CATS!
Professor I agree Mike had a good year and deserved to be the starter. Being a former player I know how my parents talked down about the coach and my playing time. I could have agreed with my parents but the players ahead of me were better. Never was able to convince my parents though. If they had been able to attend practices maybe they could have understood the coaches decision. That is why I believe parents should be seen and not heard. It is so easy for family members to misinform their sons and daugthers. This only makes coaching these kids even harder.