Patrick Cobbs

Infobox NFLactive


|width=
caption=
currentteam=Miami Dolphins
currentnumber=38
currentposition=Running back
birthdate=birth date and age|1983|1|31
birthplace=Shawnee, Oklahoma
heightft=5
heightin=8
weight=210
debutyear=2006
debutteam=Miami Dolphins
highlights=
*First-team All-Sun Belt Conference (2005)
*Second-team "ESPN The Magazine" Academic All-American (2005)
college=North Texas
undraftedyear=2006
pastteams=
* New England Patriots (2006)*
* Pittsburgh Steelers (2006)*
* Miami Dolphins (2006-present):*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
statseason=2007
statweek=17
statlabel1=Rushing yards
statvalue1=47
statlabel2=Average
statvalue2=3.1
statlabel3=Rushing Touchdowns
statvalue3=1
statlabel4=Receptions
statvalue4=2
statlabel5=Receiving yards
statvalue5=20
statlabel6=Receiving Touchdowns
statvalue6=0
nfl=COB753658

Patrick Cobbs (born January 31, 1983 in Shawnee, Oklahoma) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at North Texas.

High school career

Cobbs was a two-way starter at Tecumseh High School in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, playing both running back and safety for the football team. In his junior year, Cobbs rushed for 1,820 yards and 17 touchdowns. As as senior, he rushed for 2,354 yards and 32 touchdowns as he averaged more than eight yards per carry. His performance on offense earned him all-state honors, while he also earned first-team all-area honors as a defensive back after registering 84 tackles and four interceptions. Cobbs finished his high school career with 4,729 rushing yards and 61 touchdowns on offense, while adding 313 tackles and 16 interceptions on defense.

College career

2001

Playing in every game as a true freshman for North Texas, Cobbs racked up 399 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 93 carries. A season-high 112 yards and two scores against Idaho earned him Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors. His 399 rushing yards were best in the Sun Belt Conference. Cobbs also had a 19.2-yard average on kickoff returns, and finished third on the team with 813 all-purpose yards.

2002

Cobbs played in all 13 games as a sophomore, rushing for 716 yards and eight touchdowns - both second best on the team behind Kevin Galbreath. He had a career game against Louisiana Monroe, rushing for a career high 128 yards and a team record four touchdowns. Cobbs also led the team in kick return (24.4) and punt return (10.1) average, and had a 50-yard kickoff return in the New Orleans Bowl.

2003

In 2003, Cobbs led the nation in rushing (152.7 yards per game) and scoring (11.5 points per game), while also ranking in the top six in rushing touchdowns (19) and all-purpose yards (1,771 yards). In his first season as the starting running back, Cobbs set three North Texas single-season rushing records and finished in the top five in five different career records. He broke the school record for consecutive 100-yard rushing games, and broke Sun Belt records for rushing yards in a season, rushing yards in a game, as well as rushing touchdowns in a game and longest rush from scrimmage. Cobbs was the only back in the nation to have four 200-yard rushing games that season. The Mean Green were 9-1 when he rushed for more than 100 yards. He also set the Sun Belt single-season mark and the school record with his 1,680 total yards. Cobbs was the first running back at North Texas to lead the nation in rushing and scoring.

2004

Cobbs battled numerous injuries in the early part of the season, and after the first few games he took a medical redshirt.

2005

As a senior, Cobbs was a first team all-Sun Belt Conference running back after leading the conference in total rushing yards with 1,154. Cobbs also led the conference in all-purpose yards with an average of 135.1 yards per game, which is 14 yards per-game better than his closest competitor. In Sun Belt games, Cobbs led the league in rushing yards per game, averaging 127.9 – nearly 20 yards per-game more than his closest competitor. His 159.0 all-purpose yards per game against league and was the third-best total in conference history. Cobbs averaged 155 yards rushing in his last four games of the year, including a season-best 197 yards and three touchdowns against Louisiana-Lafayette. He was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in the season-opening win against Middle Tennessee State.

Career

Cobbs finished his career at North Texas as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,050 yards – making him only the 69th player in NCAA history to eclipse the 4,000-yard rushing mark. Cobbs holds the North Texas and Sun Belt Conference career records for rushing yards (4,050), rushing touchdowns (36), rushing attempts (818) and all-purpose yards (5,255). He averaged 5.0 yards per carry over his career and was one of only two running backs ever at North Texas to have two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He also completed 2-of-3 passes with two touchdowns for a career pass efficiency rating of 407.1. Cobbs averaged 21.0 yards on 35 kickoff returns during his career.

Academics

Cobbs was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team after compiling a 3.3 cumulative GPA during his career. He earned two undergraduate degrees at North Texas - a Bachelor’s in applied arts and Science and a Bachelor’s in sociology.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Cobbs was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of North Texas by the New England Patriots on May 15, 2006. Battling for a roster spot, Cobbs led the Patriots in rushing during the preseason with 188 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts, while also caught seven passes for 115 yards and a score. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for an undisclosed draft pick on September 1.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cobbs was inactive for the team's first regular season game against the Miami Dolphins, as he was still learning the playbook. A day after the game took place, Cobbs was released by the team. After he cleared waivers, Cobbs refused to sign to the Steelers' practice squad and instead was added to the practice squad of the Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins

2006

Cobbs remained of the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins until November 27 when he was promoted to the active roster. The team was in need of depth at the running back position after starter Ronnie Brown suffered a broken hand in a Thanksgiving Day contest against the Detroit Lions just a few days prior to Cobbs' promotion. He went on to play on special teams for three games before being inactive for the final two after Brown's return.

2007

Cobbs remained under contract with the Dolphins in 2007, and earned a backup job in training camp. He did not see action until game 7 (October 21st), against the New England Patriots when Brown was once again injured. In that game, Cobbs temporarily replaced Jesse Chatman, who had replaced the injured Brown before suffering an injury of his own. Cobbs made the most of his playing time, running for 14 yards and a touchdown on five carries and caught one pass for nine yards. The touchdown was the first of his NFL career.

On October 22nd, the Miami Herald reported that Brown will miss the rest of the 2007 season and may miss part of the 2008 training camp as well. It appears that Cobbs will serve as the Dolphins' primary backup for the remainder of the season.

External links

* [http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/team/roster/playerBio.asp?docid=25656 Miami Dolphins Bio]
* [http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=32043 New England Patriots Bio]
* [http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=9053&SPID=562&DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=67142&Q_SEASON=2005 North Texas Mean Green Bio]