Feb. 25, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky wide receiver Randall Cobb has been chosen for the Bill Hartman Award as the Southeast Special Teams Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta.
The Hartman Award will be bestowed Saturday during the TD Club’s annual awards ceremony at the Ferst Center of the Arts. Cobb will not be able to attend because of the National Football League combine.
Cobb earned the honor based on his remarkable all-around performance in 2010 as a punt returner, kickoff returner, holder, wide receiver and quarterback:
- Averaged 7.8 yards on punt returns, including one return for a touchdown
- Averaged 23.7 yards per kickoff return
- Served as the team’s placekick holder and threw a touchdown pass on a fake field goal
- Led the Southeastern Conference in pass receiving with 84 catches for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns
- Rushed for 424 yards and five touchdowns
- Threw three touchdown passes during the season, including the fake field goal TD.
- SEC single-season record with 2,396 all-purpose yards.
The Southeast Special Teams Player of the Year adds to the list of honors for Cobb that includes first-team All-America as chosen by The Associated Press, ESPN.com and SportsIllustrated.com
This marks the seventh time that a Kentucky player has won an award in the long, prestigious history of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. Wildcats winning Southeast Back of the Year include Babe Parilli (1950), Moe Williams (1995) and Tim Couch (1998). Bob Gain (1950) and Lou Michaels (1957) have been the Southeast Lineman of the Year. Cobb joins Derek Abney (2002) as UK’s Southeast Special Teams Players of the Year.
Locke, Cobb Participating in the NFL Combine: Kentucky tailback Derrick Locke and wide receiver Randall Cobb are participating in the National Football League scouting combine held Feb. 24 through March 1 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Locke rushed for 2,618 yards during his Kentucky career, sixth in Wildcat history, with 22 touchdowns. He also proved himself as a capable pass receiver with 95 career receptions. His exceptional speed (under 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash) comes on special display on kickoff returns, as he set the UK career record with an average of 27.1 yards per return, including a pair of 100-yard touchdown runbacks.
Cobb will exhibit his all-around playmaking ability which made him an outstanding pass catcher, rusher, quarterback, punt returner and kickoff returner. Although he played only three years, Cobb set the UK career touchdown record with 37 and is fourth in career all-purpose yardage. Cobb’s monster junior season featured an SEC-record 2,396 all-purpose yards and first-team All-America honors.
More than 300 top prospects were invited to the NFL combine, which plays a key role in evaluating players’ professional potential. The event is televised on the NFL Network and also can be followed on NFL.com.
