Cobb savors starting role at Auburn

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Posted 7:11AM on Tuesday, August 27, 2002

AUBURN, ALABAMA - Daniel Cobb's mother wept in the corner of his bedroom. His father stared glumly out the window, shaking his head. Only Cobb had little reaction when the doctors told him in 1997 they didn't know what to do about the blood clotting in his shoulder that had kept him bedridden for three days. ``I just looked at the doctors and said, `Thanks,''' said Cobb, now Auburn's quarterback. ``In my mind, it didn't set in that that could really be happening. I mean, I'm 19 years old!'' Now, he's 24, and the Cobb family is in a much better mood. The sixth-year senior will be Auburn's starting quarterback entering Monday night's opener at Southern California, capping a milestone in his strange endurance test of a career. It only took him five years, three schools and one operation for Cobb to enter a season as a Southeastern Conference starter. A recap: Cobb was a freshman at Georgia in 1997, hoping to contend immediately for the starting job when he found himself in an emergency room with blood clotting in his throwing shoulder. Doctors removed a rib in a 4-1/2-hour operation in February 1998, and Cobb wound up sidelined for his sophomore season also. A doctor at UCLA Medical Center prescribed a regimen of throwing a Nerf football each day, and the clot problem eventually cleared up. With Quincy Carter by then entrenched as the Bulldogs' starter, Cobb transferred to Butler Community College in Kansas. He helped lead Butler to the 1999 junior college national championship, then transferred to Auburn along with tailback Rudi Johnson. Johnson was an instant star and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year before leaving for the NFL. And Cobb? He attempted six passes and completed only one. Last season didn't start out much better, with Cobb throwing eight passes in the first five games behind Jason Campbell. Then came Florida. No. 1 Florida. Cobb came off the bench to rally the Tigers to a 23-20 victory over the Gators and claim the starting job. Amid the celebration, Cobb couldn't help but think about his ordeal. ``That's one of the first things that went through my mind,'' he said. ``It's like, `Holy cow, this has been such a long and bending and crooked road.''' Another detour awaited. Cobb was benched for Campbell during the Tigers' 31-7 loss to Alabama, then didn't play in the regular-season finale at LSU. He only entered late in a Peach Bowl loss to North Carolina. It was enough to make Cobb wonder if he should even bother applying for a sixth year of eligibility, which the NCAA eventually granted. Cobb, who graduated with a degree in mass communications last December, and his father, Ron, visited coach Tommy Tuberville and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino with a checklist of questions. Namely, did he have a shot at the job? ``When I talked to coach Petrino and coach Tuberville, they really gave me the sense that they'd like to have me back competing for the job,'' Cobb said. ``I feel real fortunate to have this opportunity.'' Tuberville is hoping to avoid last year's constant flux at quarterback. ``It'd be perfect if one started all year. We expected Jason to do it last year, and that was all of our intentions,'' Tuberville said. ``After the Syracuse game (a 31-14 defeat), he just lost his confidence. ``Then, when Daniel went in, he probably played one of the best games at quarterback that's been here in a while in two and a half quarters against Florida. Obviously he was the starter the next week.'' Cobb knows well how tenuous that status can be, but said he already feels comfortable in Petrino's offense. If it doesn't work out, he figures his medical problems prepared him to cope. ``That experience humbled me in more ways than one as a person,'' he said. ``It really created the person that I am today as far as a person and really knowing what football is. Being a quarterback is not the defining aspect of my character.''