Cobbs eager to get back to work

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Cedric Cobbs averaged fewer yards per rushing attempt against Southwest Missouri State than Arkansas has pages devoted to him in its media guide.
Cobbs' bio, in which he's touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate, covers 3.5 pages, so he's got a lot of ground to make up after being held to 57 yards on 18 carries -- a 3.2-yard average -- by the Bears Saturday night.
Southwest Missouri State's defensive focus on Cobbs helped open up Arkansas' passing game and the Razorbacks won 38-0 at War Memorial Stadium.
But it was startling to see Cobbs, a sophomore tailback from Little Rock, struggle against a Division I-AA team after being last seen as Offensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl in Arkansas' 27-6 victory over Texas.
Cobbs, who rushed for an Arkansas-freshman record 668 yards last season and averaged 5.8 per carry, came into this season talking about rushing for 2,000 yards, and he figured to pile up big chunks against Southwest Missouri State.
"I think it was a good wake-up call that you can never take anything for granted," Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt. "You can never go up and just say, 'OK, I'm going to step out here and run for 150 yards.' It just doesn't happen."
Cobbs had 16 yards on his first 11 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Razorbacks ahead 7-0 on the third play of the second quarter.
"I thought maybe I'd have to shake off one or two [defenders], but they had several coming at me on every play," Cobbs said. "I wasn't prepared for that. The next game I will be, if something happens like that."
Cobbs also was whistled for two penalties, for moving before the snap and holding.
"I'm really more upset about that than anything," Nutt said.
Cobbs' one long run was for 26 yards to the Southwest Missouri State 4 and set up Arkansas' second touchdown, but even that was frustrating for him.
"I should have scored on that run," Cobbs said. "It just wasn't my night."
Cobbs was swarmed by the Bears on several plays after not being hit during the Razorbacks' preseason practices, and he said the lack of contact affected him.
"I wasn't as prepared as I could have been," he said. "I was kind of fudging around, trying to move around too much instead of being my old self and just running."
Cobbs said Arkansas' running plays "were limited ... I didn't have much of an option to do anything" because the Razorbacks didn't want to reveal too much on offense in their first game.
Nutt said he called plays conservatively to help sophomore quarterback Robby Hampton, who was making his first start, get in the flow of the game. Nutt said the Razorbacks wanted to focus on executing three or four running plays, regardless of the defensive alignment.
"I think there were some plays where we need to block better, too," Nutt said. "I think it's 11 [players], it's not just Cedric. I think it's a combination."
But Nutt also called those plays with the idea Cobbs would be able to establish the running game.
"I think he's going to have to understand there is a big bull's-eye now on his chest, too," Nutt said. "Everybody talks about him, he's on every magazine.
"You have to be mentally ready to go every game, every series, every snap."
Cobbs said he will be ready when the Razorbacks play Boise State on Sept. 16 in Little Rock after having an open date this week.
His 3.2-yard average against Southwest Missouri State will be a motivating factor for him.
"Even if they were keying on me, I expect myself to perform at max," he said. "It was frustrating, but I like challenges."

This article was published on Monday, September 4, 2000

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