Randall Cobb with SEC Network host Alyssa Lang. (SEC Network Photo)
Kentucky has had very few football players like Randall Cobb so it should not be a big surprise that he has been named to the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
A release from Kentucky about the honor called him “arguably the most versatile, dynamic playmaker in Kentucky football history as a wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and kickoff returner” and that’s why he is one of the players on the ballot.
Cobb came to UK from Alcoa, Tenn., just a stone’s throw from Neyland Stadium where the Tennessee Volunteers play. However, he was not heavily pursued by the Vols and committed to play at UK for coach Rich Brooks. When the Vols tried to get involved late with Cobb, he would not flip his commitment.
Cobb played at Kentucky from 2008-10 and was named first-team All-America as a junior and first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a sophomore and junior. He set the SEC single-season record for all-purpose yardage (2,396 yards in 2010) and the UK career record for touchdowns (37). As a freshman in 2008, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after accounting for 11 touchdowns – two passing, two receiving and seven rushing.
Cobb was a finalist for the 2019 Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player, an honor he should have won since he was the only FBS player to rank first or second on a team in rushing, passing and receiving.
The bigger the situation, the better it seemed like Cobb performed. He scored five game-winning, fourth-quarter touchdowns at Georgia, at Auburn and at home against Arkansas, Louisville and South Carolina.
Cobb gave up his senior season at UK to enter the NFL draft, a wise move since after being drafted by Green Bay he played 13 years in the NFL with four teams (Packers, Cowboys, Texans and Jets). Cobb amassed over 7,600 receiving yards with 54 touchdowns, including a career-high 1,287 yards in 2014 campaign when he was named to the Pro Bowl.
He graduated from UK in 2016 with a degree in community and leadership development because he promised his mother he could become the first person in his immediate family to graduate from college.
Cobb was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Kentucky Pro Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
The former UK star began a new career with the SEC Network as a college football studio analyst last summer and recently did an extended interview with UK coach Mark Stoops for a behind the scenes look at Kentucky’s spring practice.
One Response
Very well deserved!!