Decision to stay or go 'weighing heavy' on Kentucky's Cobb

Decision to stay or go 'weighing heavy' on Kentucky's Cobb

Newly minted All-American Randall Cobb said Thursday that he and Kentucky's football team failed to have the kind of 2010 season he desired. That will be a factor in his decision on whether to enter the NFL Draft.

"A lot of things are affecting that decision," Cobb said. "That's why I hide in my room all the time. To keep from being asked that question. It's really been weighing heavy on my heart lately."

Cobb, a junior, described the decision of turning pro as more difficult than making a college choice.

"It was worse than my recruiting," he said. "It's double, triple what I went through in my recruiting. The only thing I can do is pray about it and put all my faith in the man upstairs and let him help me with the decision."

When he made his college choice, Cobb envisioned big things.

"I did," he said. "Not to this certain level. But I did envision success. That's what I try to do my whole life. You want to set yourself up for the highest standards you can. That's what I continue to drive for and what fuels me to try to reach goals."

The decision to turn pro or stay at UK preoccupies his mind, Cobb said, especially in this period of no practice and final exams completed. He said he thinks of that decision "every day."

Cobb said he learned of being named to The Associated Press All-America team through "a bunch of missed calls" and "27 Twitter updates." He picked up the messages after a workout.

"I thought I'd gotten in trouble for something," he said.

When asked his reaction to being named Kentucky's first AP first-team All-American since 2002, Cobb said, "It's different. It feels good. It's humbling just to be mentioned with such a distinguished group of people."

The honor was proof that "all the work is finally paying off," he said.

Cobb acknowledged his surprise at being named an All-American.

"I always want to say and think I'm the best," he said. "To hear it from other people gives you a little bit of pride."

But Cobb also sounded wary of how such an honor can affect a person.

"That's just not something to stop me from my work ethic and making sure I keep doing what I did before," he said.

Cobb was not assigned a position on the team. He was chosen as an all-purpose player.

"That just says how much the game has evolved," he said.

The struggle for Cobb is achieving his goals in the face of skepticism. He suggested he would consider the doubters in deciding whether to turn pro.

"I always set out to prove people wrong," he said. "That's what I'm going to continue to try to do."


Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/17/1569784/decision-to-stay-or-go-weighing.html#ixzz18NnGHQzl