Randall Cobb is getting a Tennessee Tattoo Removed

Randall Cobb did a little bit of everything at the University of Kentucky. Now the talented Wildcat is going to be doing a little bit of everything for the SEC Network, but he has some business to attend to first.

Before getting to work for the four-letter organization, Cobb has a few matters to address on his checklist. First and foremost, he’s taking a European vacation with his family. It’ll serve as a nice distraction when he does not report to NFL training camp for the first time in 14 years.

Secondly, and maybe most importantly, he’s getting a Tennessee tattoo removed. Before you jump to conclusions, it’s not a Volunteer tattoo. The Alcoa, Tn. native got the outline of the state inked on his back when he was living in Lexington.

“That was a bad choice as a 19-year-old,” he said during Thursday’s SEC This Morning. “I got the whole state on my back. It’s a stupid 19-year-old making mistakes and every time my kids ask me, ‘Why do you have a stamp on your back?’ It was a mistake. Don’t worry about that.”

Kentucky > Tennessee

Everyone makes mistakes. At least he did not make a mistake when he chose to play at Kentucky over Tennessee.

“I ended up getting an offer from Tennessee late in my senior year where I had been committed to Kentucky since the summer before and I just felt more comfortable with the situation that Coach (Rich) Brooks was telling me,” Cobb said.

“He was going to give me an opportunity at quarterback, but I knew probably in the end that wasn’t going to be my home stay. They gave me that opportunity. They also implemented me into the game in other ways and made the transition to receiver, have the opportunity to play Wildcat quarterback, run the ball out of the backfield, which really helped me at the next level. You think of Deebo Samuel, that was a guy that people compared him to me when he was coming into the league because that was kind of what I was doing…

“It was really cool to have that experience because it carried over into the NFL and gave me an opportunity to showcase what I could do and give me that opportunity to do as a return man.”

For our younger audience who was around during Cobb’s run at Kentucky from 2008-10, it was Lynn Bowden before Lynn Bowden, but better. Bowden was a dynamite running the ball out of the Wildcat, but Cobb attempted 99 passes during his true freshman season. That curtailed off following the emergence of Mike Hartline, but Cobb still had almost 700 yards and five touchdown passes in his three-year career.

He rushed for 1,331 yards and 22 touchdowns. He had 1,661 receiving yards (including 1,000+ in 2010), and 13 touchdowns. Oh, and he returned a couple of punts for touchdowns. Cobb set the SEC record for all-purpose yards in a single season in 2010 with 2,396.

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Cobb is a Mark Stoops Fan

Even though he’s spent his Sundays catching passes in the NFL throughout the Mark Stoops era, he’s kept a keen eye on what’s happening in Lexington. Cobb is a big fan of what the head coach has done in Kentucky, particularly on the recruiting trail.

“I love where we stand right now and I’m loving what Coach Stoops has done. The guys that he’s been able to get on campus in Lexington, the talent that he’s been able to field the roster in different aspects. I’ve always said Kentucky is in a very tough spot geographically,” he said.

“When you look at it, trying to pull guys from Florida and Georgia up to Kentucky, they think it’s cold. You get those guys up from Miami and they think it’s cold, but it’s not in the grand scheme of things. It’s not Green Bay cold. Then you go north and you’re competing with the Ohio States and Michigans, so it’s a really tough position for him to be in and for him to be able to go into the portal and find guys, find pieces, and put a roster together and find a way to continue to have success, I’ve really been impressed with him over the years.”

Big men lead the way and Kentucky has been excellent in the trenches over the years. The strength of this year’s team is in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball. The key to success in 2024 is improving on third down.

“That’s what they’ve built their game on, they’ve built their roster around their front. Having a great D-line and great O-line, being able to move the line of scrimmage is very critical for them to have success. You look at the defensive line and the way they’ve been able to stop the run, they’ve been great over the years.

“If we can find a way to get off the field — and I say we, I still gotta get outta that — if Kentucky can find a way to get off the field on third and down get more opportunities on offense, that’s gonna help them so much moving forward.”