Cobbs Jr. Becoming a Matchup Nightmare for Defenses
9/7/2017 2:48:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Anybody looking for cupcakes certainly won't find many on Indiana's football schedule.
For instance, after opening last Thursday with Ohio State, the next five Big Ten games for the Hoosiers are: at Penn State, Michigan, at Michigan State, at Maryland, Wisconsin.
But it could be more fruitful to search the apartment shared by IU fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow and wideouts Simmie Cobbs and Taysir Mack.
"Yesterday, we made cupcakes," Cobbs told the media Tuesday. "… They were actually pretty neat. Little, vanilla, with sprinkles on top."
The media, an army that travels on its stomach, inquired if Cobbs had brought any cupcakes along.
"No, I did not," Cobbs replied with a grin. "Those are for me and Rich and Taysir."
Lagow was in a sharing mood last Thursday night, however, in terms of the football. Ten different Hoosiers caught passes.
But nobody caught more that did Cobbs, who hauled in 11 (a career-high) for 149 yards. And it was no accident Lagow targeted Cobbs 17 times, overall.
Because Cobbs constitutes a 6-foot-4, 220-pound matchup nightmare for even talented defensive backs.
When IU faced its initial third-down situation, needing to keep its first drive alive, Lagow let go a back-shoulder throw down the east sideline to Cobbs, who was in a one-on-one battle with Buckeye cornerback Kendall Sheffield.
"I'm trying to 'defend the defender' as well as he's grabbing me," Cobbs recalled of the play. "My hand was open and, once (the ball) made contact, I just squeezed it.
"I looked it in, pulled it in and held it throughout contact, and tried to get my foot down as well."
Cobbs' foot came down inbounds 28 yards downfield, and the Hoosiers were en route to their first touchdown.
"He brings the big play, and the physicality that comes along from just being that big," Lagow said of Cobbs. "He's a matchup issue. You've probably heard that 1,000 times, but he really is.
"Someone that big, that athletic, you can't really leave him on an island (with single coverage), which sometimes you can get away with on the smaller receivers."
And after an 18-yard completion to Cobbs set up a first-and-goal at the OSU in the second quarter, Lagow passes again sought Cobbs out -- three straight times into the end zone. The odds were favorable.
"I figured he'd catch one of them," Lagow quipped.
Cobbs did, giving IU a 14-6 lead over the nation's No. 2-ranked team.
"If I give him a chance, I expect him to come down with the ball," Lagow said of Cobbs. "I'm pretty hard on him, demand and expect a lot out of him, and he's the same with me. He's tough on me.
"It's a good relationship. We're both extremely competitive. So if I don't put the ball where it needs to be, I'm going to hear about it. And if he drops a ball that I feel was competitive, that he should catch, he's going to hear about it from me."
Even before they were roomies, Cobbs and Lagow had good chemistry. But the on-field aspect of that was rudely interrupted last fall.
Cobbs, on his first snap from scrimmage for the year, sustained a lower leg injury that cost him the 2016 campaign.
Which made Cobbs that much more appreciative of being on the field now.
"I wake up every day and feel blessed to be able to come play," Cobbs said, who had amassed 1,035 receiving yards in 2015 and had looked forward to big things in 2016. "When you go through the injury process, it definitely takes a toll on you."
IU junior wideout Nick Westbrook is facing that harsh reality now after tearing an ACL on Thursday's opening kickoff. Cobbs said he hadn't yet counseled Westbrook about how to deal with the adversity, but will.
"I really didn't want everybody pouring down on me (right after my injury)," Cobbs said. "I'm kind of just giving him space right now. There will be a certain time to talk to him."
When that time comes, Cobbs might offer these observations:
"I think the worst part, for me, was right after surgery. You feel totally different. The easiest part is when you get back on your feet again and start making plays. There is progression throughout the rehab, and you start doing things you weren't able to do for weeks or months.
"The doctors do a great job. It's just the mental part that you have to get over … in your mind, you're going, 'I don't know.' Once you get through that part, you're good."
Cobbs was grateful for the chance to shine in a nationally-televised spotlight Thursday night. "It was definitely a bigger stage, with just all the hype it had," he said, "and then me being back after so long.
"You learn to appreciate the game much more. Because, as a player, if you've never been injured, you hear stories about how one play can take it away from you, but you never take that in, really, until it happens to you. It's definitely
humbling.
"It makes you think wiser and just come out every day with a smile on your face, because you know you get another chance to play the game you've dedicated your entire life to … so every day I come onto the field, I thank God and just try to smile every day, just get the guys going."
Cobbs said it doesn't take much to get Lagow going.
"We were always cool," Cobbs said. "I kind of consider him like a brother, like the rest of my teammates. He's my roommate … we're definitely very close.
"We talk trash. We watch football, watch movies … "
And make cupcakes.
And whomever Cobbs is matched up against Saturday afternoon at Virginia, or during ensuing Saturdays, Lagow is probably going to consider that matchup pretty tasty.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Anybody looking for cupcakes certainly won't find many on Indiana's football schedule.
For instance, after opening last Thursday with Ohio State, the next five Big Ten games for the Hoosiers are: at Penn State, Michigan, at Michigan State, at Maryland, Wisconsin.
But it could be more fruitful to search the apartment shared by IU fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow and wideouts Simmie Cobbs and Taysir Mack.
"Yesterday, we made cupcakes," Cobbs told the media Tuesday. "… They were actually pretty neat. Little, vanilla, with sprinkles on top."
The media, an army that travels on its stomach, inquired if Cobbs had brought any cupcakes along.
"No, I did not," Cobbs replied with a grin. "Those are for me and Rich and Taysir."
Lagow was in a sharing mood last Thursday night, however, in terms of the football. Ten different Hoosiers caught passes.
But nobody caught more that did Cobbs, who hauled in 11 (a career-high) for 149 yards. And it was no accident Lagow targeted Cobbs 17 times, overall.
Because Cobbs constitutes a 6-foot-4, 220-pound matchup nightmare for even talented defensive backs.
When IU faced its initial third-down situation, needing to keep its first drive alive, Lagow let go a back-shoulder throw down the east sideline to Cobbs, who was in a one-on-one battle with Buckeye cornerback Kendall Sheffield.
"I'm trying to 'defend the defender' as well as he's grabbing me," Cobbs recalled of the play. "My hand was open and, once (the ball) made contact, I just squeezed it.
"I looked it in, pulled it in and held it throughout contact, and tried to get my foot down as well."
Cobbs' foot came down inbounds 28 yards downfield, and the Hoosiers were en route to their first touchdown.
"He brings the big play, and the physicality that comes along from just being that big," Lagow said of Cobbs. "He's a matchup issue. You've probably heard that 1,000 times, but he really is.
"Someone that big, that athletic, you can't really leave him on an island (with single coverage), which sometimes you can get away with on the smaller receivers."
And after an 18-yard completion to Cobbs set up a first-and-goal at the OSU in the second quarter, Lagow passes again sought Cobbs out -- three straight times into the end zone. The odds were favorable.
"I figured he'd catch one of them," Lagow quipped.
Cobbs did, giving IU a 14-6 lead over the nation's No. 2-ranked team.
"If I give him a chance, I expect him to come down with the ball," Lagow said of Cobbs. "I'm pretty hard on him, demand and expect a lot out of him, and he's the same with me. He's tough on me.
"It's a good relationship. We're both extremely competitive. So if I don't put the ball where it needs to be, I'm going to hear about it. And if he drops a ball that I feel was competitive, that he should catch, he's going to hear about it from me."
Even before they were roomies, Cobbs and Lagow had good chemistry. But the on-field aspect of that was rudely interrupted last fall.
Cobbs, on his first snap from scrimmage for the year, sustained a lower leg injury that cost him the 2016 campaign.
Which made Cobbs that much more appreciative of being on the field now.
"I wake up every day and feel blessed to be able to come play," Cobbs said, who had amassed 1,035 receiving yards in 2015 and had looked forward to big things in 2016. "When you go through the injury process, it definitely takes a toll on you."
IU junior wideout Nick Westbrook is facing that harsh reality now after tearing an ACL on Thursday's opening kickoff. Cobbs said he hadn't yet counseled Westbrook about how to deal with the adversity, but will.
"I really didn't want everybody pouring down on me (right after my injury)," Cobbs said. "I'm kind of just giving him space right now. There will be a certain time to talk to him."
When that time comes, Cobbs might offer these observations:
"I think the worst part, for me, was right after surgery. You feel totally different. The easiest part is when you get back on your feet again and start making plays. There is progression throughout the rehab, and you start doing things you weren't able to do for weeks or months.
"The doctors do a great job. It's just the mental part that you have to get over … in your mind, you're going, 'I don't know.' Once you get through that part, you're good."
Cobbs was grateful for the chance to shine in a nationally-televised spotlight Thursday night. "It was definitely a bigger stage, with just all the hype it had," he said, "and then me being back after so long.
"You learn to appreciate the game much more. Because, as a player, if you've never been injured, you hear stories about how one play can take it away from you, but you never take that in, really, until it happens to you. It's definitely
humbling.
"It makes you think wiser and just come out every day with a smile on your face, because you know you get another chance to play the game you've dedicated your entire life to … so every day I come onto the field, I thank God and just try to smile every day, just get the guys going."
Cobbs said it doesn't take much to get Lagow going.
"We were always cool," Cobbs said. "I kind of consider him like a brother, like the rest of my teammates. He's my roommate … we're definitely very close.
"We talk trash. We watch football, watch movies … "
And make cupcakes.
And whomever Cobbs is matched up against Saturday afternoon at Virginia, or during ensuing Saturdays, Lagow is probably going to consider that matchup pretty tasty.
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