RIP Former VOLS RB Reggie Cobb

The kids on here may not remember him, but he had the potential to be great had he not been dismissed. He had been a scout in the NFL since 2001.


Cobb received considerable playing time in his first game of the 1987 season and made the most of the opportunity, erupting for 138 yards on 25 carries in the Vols' 23-22 win over Iowa.[4] In Tennessee's 38-10 win over Mississippi State, Cobb scored three touchdowns, including a 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.[5] Two weeks later, he rushed for 66 yards and scored two touchdowns, including the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, in Tennessee's 20-20 tie against Auburn.[6] In Tennessee's 38-12 win over California, Cobb rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass.[7] He rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee's win over Georgia Tech,[8] picked up 127 yards and two touchdowns against Louisville,[9] scored three touchdowns against Ole Miss,[10] and finished the season with 144 and 140 rushing yards, respectively, in close wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt.[11] In Tennessee's 27-22 win over Indiana in the 1988 Peach Bowl, Cobb rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, to win game MVP honors.[12] For the season, he had a school-record 1,721 all-purpose yards, including a team-leading 1,197 rushing yards. His 20 touchdowns (17 rushing and three receiving) was second in the nation behind Paul Hewitt's 24,[1] and tied an SEC record.[13]

During the 1988 season, Cobb missed three full games and part of two games with an ankle injury, and his production dropped to 547 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 118 carries, and 126 yards and three touchdowns on 17 catches. He rushed for a career-high 182 yards against Duke, and picked up 113 yards rushing against Ole Miss before leaving the game with an injury.[14]

Prior to spring practice in 1989, Cobb was placed on indefinite suspension for failing a third drug test.[15] After completing a drug rehabilitation program, he was reinstated just before the start of the season.[15] He rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee's 17-14 opening win over Colorado State,[16] and added 78 yards against UCLA the following week, sharing time with rising star Chuck Webb to form a running back tandem that became known as "Cobb-Webb."[17] In Tennessee's 28-6 win over Duke, Cobb rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns, much of his total coming on a 61-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.[18] The biggest game of Cobb's college career came in Tennessee's 21-14 win over Auburn, when he exploded for 225 yards on 22 carries, including a 79-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.[19] In Tennessee's 17-14 win over Georgia, Cobb rushed for 106 yards on 20 carries, and scored a key touchdown in the fourth quarter.[20]

Cobb was dismissed from the team prior to Tennessee's game against Alabama in October 1989 after he once again failed a drug test.[15] For his abbreviated season, he rushed for 625 yards and six touchdowns on 90 carries.[21] At the time of his dismissal, he was locked in a battle with Florida's Emmitt Smith for the SEC's rushing title.[22] His 6.8 yards-per-carry in 1989 led the SEC.[23]

During his career at Tennessee, Cobb rushed 445 times for 2,360 yards and 26 touchdowns, caught 33 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns, and returned 16 kickoffs for 326 yards.[24] His 1,721 all-purpose yards in 1987 remained a school single-season record until broken by Cordarrelle Patterson in 2012, and his 17 rushing touchdowns in 1987 remains a modern school single-season record.[25] His 1,197 rushing yards in 1987 remains the 9th-highest single-season total in school history, and his 2,360 career rushing yards is the school's 10th-highest career total.[26]