Herb Zurkowsky
Montreal Gazette
HAMILTON — The meshing of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and running-back DeAndra’ Cobb never should have been.
Cobb almost missed attending a free-agent camp the Ticats held in California just before the start of training camp, so busy had he been attending an Elite Football Combine workout the previous day. And, although he impressed Hamilton management during the workout, the team already was inviting plenty of tailbacks to camp.
“But you can never have too many running backs – or players,” Ticats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said.
Bellefeuille couldn’t believe his eyes – or the timing mechanism – when Cobb ran a 4.38 over 40 yards. So Cobb was asked to run it again, timed by another team official. His time improved to 4.375. Bellefeuille immediately called general manager Bob O’Billovich.
The Ticats’ negotiation list was already full, but a player was released to accommodate Cobb – one of five players the team signed from that camp. “He,” Bellefeuille said, “has made the most impact. We made room for him on the neg list, and I’m glad we did.”
Still, it never should have been.
Cobb didn’t sign with Hamilton until May 29, only days before the start of rookie camp. He survived and was invited to the main camp, but discovered he was fourth on the depth chart, behind Kenton Keith, Terry Caulley and Tre Smith. Cobb was released June 25th, only to be invited back on the practice roster.
That’s where the story should have ended; Cobb, just another guy waiting his turn. But Keith’s out until early September, at least, with a knee injury, while Smith and Caulley were injured in the team’s opening game, against Toronto.
That provided Cobb with his opportunity July 10th, when the Ticats traveled to British Columbia. Hamilton came from behind to defeat the Lions, while the 5-foot-10, 196-pound Cobb was one of the game’s individual standouts. He gained 100 yards on 14 carries, adding another 75 in receiving, including a highlight-reel, game-winning 48-yard touchdown.
“He did some things,” Bellefeuille understated. “He can run in space and can score. He reminds me of Kenton Keith, and gives us another playmaker on the field.”
Still, it never should have been.
Cobb had been out of football two full seasons when he and the Ticats found each other. Selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (201st overall) in 2005, he played three games as a rookie, returning 16 kickoffs for 359 yards and one punt. But the Falcons released him in August 2006 and, although joining Jacksonville’s practice squad that December, Cobb never dressed.
With a wife and two kids at home, Cobb was forced to work a variety of jobs, including one as a security guard at a high school in California. He was contemplating a return to college to complete his sociology degree so he could work with troubled youth.
Cobb’s stepfather, Earnest Harden, told him he should give football one more chance, telling Cobb the vision came to him from God during a dream.
“I was doing it on my own until last November. But (Harden) told me I should still play and said he’d be my manager, getting me workouts until I got back into ball,” Cobb said during an interview this week.
“And then I almost missed the workout,” he said, laughing. “It could have gone either way. God had a plan all the time. My stepfather felt strongly about Winnipeg and Edmonton. This is the one we almost overlooked.”
Still, it never should have been.
Cobb grew up in Las Vegas, where there was fast money to be made and a faster lifestyle. It wasn’t uncommon for him to shoplift, even visiting clubs while underage. In Vegas, it seems, anything goes.
“I was 13, 14, (working as a janitor) cleaning up restaurants. I was no stranger to money,” he said. “I’d have $400 or $500 in my pocket, and yet I’d still steal … clothes, shoes. … Who knows where it would have went had I not got away from it.”
He was a small and quiet kid with a short attention span in school. He wasn’t happy when his mother remarried. But Harden eventually won him over, not by attempting to replace his father; simply by becoming Cobb’s friend.
His grades slowly improved and he was accepted into a junior college in Lancaster, Calif. Two years later, he transferred to Michigan State, where he was regarded as one of U.S. college football’s top kickoff returners. He set a school record, with four touchdowns, one shy of the Big Ten Conference mark, and was a first-team all-American as a junior.
“Did I think my opportunity would come this soon? No,” said Cobb, 28. “One minute I was cheering Terry into the end zone and then, I’m taking his place. It’s breathtaking. It’s amazing how God takes you out and puts you where He wants. I’ve been running on faith, and here we are now.
“A year ago, I was praying and wishing for an opportunity to play. The clock was ticking. I went for it and have been blessed with this opportunity.”
Courtesy: www.montrealgazette.com
