Randall Cobb likely will make his debut with the Dallas Cowboys Saturday night when the team opens exhibition play at the Los Angeles Rams. If his agent, Ed Berry, is right, it could be rejuvenating experience for the NFL veteran.
“It’s like going to a new school and it is the first day,” said Berry. “He’s a big-time veteran. I think this move has revitalized him. I talk to him several times a week and he’s really looking forward to this opportunity. I think he’s poised to have a real breakout year and make Big Blue Nation proud. And remember, he’s just 28 years old.”
Cobb played eight years with the Green Bay Packers after leaving Kentucky following his junior season. He has 470 catches for 5,524 yards and 75 touchdowns in 105 NFL games but he missed seven 2018 games with injuries and wound up with 38 catches for 383 yards and two scores, his lowest numbers since 2013 when he played in only six games due to injury.
At Kentucky he had 144 catches for 1,661 yards and 13 scores and ran for 1,313 yards and 22 more touchdowns while playing both quarterback and receiver. He earned All-America honors in 2010 and held UK’s all-time career touchdown record until Benny Snell broke his mark last season.
Berry is a former walk-on receiver at Kentucky who was a four-sport star at Eminence (Ky.) High School. He met Cobb at UK and they shared an apartment during Cobb’s final year at Kentucky. Berry graduated from UK with a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing and got his MBA at UK a year later.
“I was a year younger than Randall but we became friends my freshman year, which was his sophomore year. I was actually Randall’s backup my second season,” Berry said.
Obviously, Kentucky coach Rich Brooks was not going to take Cobb off the field very often, so that limited Berry’s chances to play.
“If not for Randall, I would have got to get my shine on in the NFL,” Berry laughed and said. “But that also where him and I became best friends. I was in his wedding. He was in mine.”
Berry is an agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in New York. His clients not only include former UK linebacker Avery Williamson, now with the New York Jets, but also Green Bay All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Cobb signed a one-year deal for “only” $5 million but the Cowboys believe he is a versatile playmaker who can be a huge asset for quarterback Dak Prescott and also provide a stable, veteran presence for a team that draws a lot of media and national attention.
“College football is fun and fantastic,” Berry said. “I remember our Arkansas game and watching him catch two touchdown passes. But when you get to the NFL, it is a dog eat dog world. It’s cold. The average NFL career is 2 /12 to 3 years.
“Randall always hears he’s undersized, too slow, too this or that. But he’s going into his ninth season. All he’s done since winning Mr. Tennessee (in high school) and coming to Kentucky and making All-American and getting drafted in the second round is prove the doubters wrong. He wears that chip on his shoulder and just keeps grinding it out.
“It’s crazy to think a kid from Alcoa, Tenn., is in the record books in Green Bay as one of the top 10 all-time receivers. It’s mind blowing all he did for the Packers but it didn’t surprise me. That’s Randall Cobb. Now he’s moved on to a new chapter in his professional career and can’t wait to get in going to show everybody all he can still do.”