Tulsa Central's Demarco Cobbs Commits to Texas

Originally Published: Oct 29, 2009 11:3 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma – Tulsa Central head coach Corey Russell confirmed to Oklahoma Sports that star quarterback Demarco Cobbs has changed his verbal commitment from Tennessee to Texas.

Cobbs first committed to Tennessee during the Oklahoma Sports Blitz on Sept. 13th. He had been offered a total of 41 scholarships, and his choices had been boiled down to Tennessee, LSU and Alabama. The University of Oklahoma was the last Big 12 school Cobbs eliminated from his list.

However, Coach Russell said Cobbs’ early elimination of Texas as a possible destination was due to miscommunication.

“Texas had a lot of commitments, and Demarco thought they weren’t recruiting him anymore,” Russell said. “[Texas recruiting coordinator Bruce] Chambers didn’t get a call from him, so he thought Demarco wasn’t interested.”

Russell said Chambers was the most active Texas coach in pursuit of Cobbs, but that head coach Mack Brown also contacted the young quarterback on several occasions. Russell added that Chambers and Cobbs have been in consistent contact for the last month and a half.

What ultimately caused Cobbs to commit to Texas was the way the Longhorns plan to use him. Russell said the Texas coaches showed interest in utilizing Cobbs in several different ways: as a defensive back, running back, wide receiver and quarterback in certain formations.

“[The Texas coaches] really like him,” Russell said. “He has the body and the physical ability to play right away, and they want to find any way they can to use him. Demarco really liked that.”

Russell also said that Cobbs chose Texas over OU because he wanted to take advantage of the chance to move outside of Oklahoma’s borders.

“He’s led a rough life,” Russell said. “This is nothing against Oklahoma, but he just really wanted a change of scenery and I think it will be good for him.”

Russell said Cobbs has been very happy since he made his new decision, and that making the announcement took a weight off the young man’s shoulders.

“I’m happy that he’s made his decision,” Russell said. “He came in today and he was in a great mood; he was wearing his Texas hoodie under his jersey. I think he’s just glad that it’s over and he can focus on other things. It’s a huge relief for him.”

Cobbs is near the top of several recruiting database lists. Scout.com ranks him as the seventh-best wide receiver in the country and Rivals.com has him as the ninth-best athlete in the country. Both rated him the best prospect in Oklahoma.

Russell said he is glad Cobbs can put his college decision behind him and now focus on the rest of the season and helping the Braves in their playoff push.

“He is excited about leading us to the playoffs, and what we can do there,” Russell said.

Tulsa Central (6-2, 3-2) is currently tied for third in District 5A-3 with Ada, a team the Braves defeated earlier this season. Central’s remaining two games are against Coweta (1-7, 1-4) and Stilwell (2-6, 2-3).