Duo keeps North Texas grounded

By Steve Richardson, Special for USA TODAY

DENTON, Texas  The University of North Texas is starting to sprawl on both sides of Interstate 35 with a student enrollment of more than 31,000. But it's still a David among Goliaths in college football.

North Texas stars Patrick Cobbs, left, and Jamario Thomas have amassed big rushing numbers. By Rick Yeatts, University of North Texas

The Mean Green play at 30,500-seat Fouts Field, which resembles an overgrown high school facility. Their only I-A consensus All-American is Mean Joe Greene (1968), whose photo hangs on the side of the small press box. (Related item: Sun Belt odds and ends)

North Texas, which only resumed I-A status in 1995 after a 12-year absence, hardly seems the likely place for the nation's top rushers to roam.

Yet the last two seasons, Patrick Cobbs (2003) and Jamario Thomas (2004) have led I-A in rushing. It's the first time two backs from the same I-A school have done it in consecutive seasons since 1970, when the NCAA began tracking per-game rushing statistics.

Thomas and Cobbs, who seem to mirror the laid-back attitudes in this far north Texas town, will share the spotlight for the first time when the Mean Green open at LSU on Sept. 3.

"They are really both small-town country kids," North Texas coach Darrell Dickey said. "Patrick drives a pickup truck, and he is from Tecumseh (Okla.), 30 miles out of Norman. Jamario is from Longview (Texas), about two, three hours from here."

They were a perfect fit for North Texas.

The 5-9 Cobbs, a fifth-year senior, needed a scholarship from a I-A school; his only other offer was from Division II Missouri Southern. Cobbs, who weighed 188 and was a high school power lifter, was labeled too small and too slow for major schools.

"When he got here, we saw early in two-a-days he was probably a little quicker and faster than people thought," Dickey said of Cobbs, who now weighs about 205. "And he was an extremely hard worker and extremely unselfish."

The 5-11, 195-pound Thomas, a sophomore, had interest from Arizona State and Texas Tech, among other big-time schools. He came from a small high school and ran track, which showcased his speed.

Thomas wanted to stay close to home, play for a run-oriented team and find an academic program that could help with his dyslexia. He found all those in Denton.

Thomas led the nation in rushing as a freshman (180.1 yards a game) in 2004 after Cobbs, who led as a junior in 2003 (152.7 yards a game), suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game.

North Texas coaches were considering redshirting Thomas, a true freshman, last year. But he impressed them in two-a-days. When the team went to Texas for the 2004 opener, Thomas gasped when he saw the sellout crowd of nearly 83,000 in Austin. Almost as an afterthought, he carried twice in a 65-0 loss to the Longhorns.

"It was, 'Oh, my God, all these people,' " he said of Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. "I didn't know that many people watched a football game."

Cobbs went down the next week against Florida Atlantic. Then a week later Dickey told Thomas he was a starter during the pregame breakfast.

On his first play, Thomas streaked 57 yards for a touchdown against Colorado in Boulder. He was on his way to the rushing title, only the third I-A freshman to do so.

"I didn't think it was possible," Thomas said. "After that (first run), I stopped selling myself short."

As Cobbs was rehabilitating his knee, Thomas set a I-A freshman record with six 200-plus yards rushing games and tied a I-A record (for any class) of five 200-yard rushing games in a row. That record had been held by Southern California's Marcus Allen and Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders.

Oklahoma freshman Adrian Peterson gained more yards than Thomas, 1,925 to 1,801, but did it in three more games. So Peterson's average was only 148.1 yards.

"The way we produce running backs here, we just plugged another one in, and it worked out well," North Texas junior wide receiver Johnny Quinn said. "We were down for a little bit (after Cobbs' injury). But we play Colorado, and on the opening play, when he takes it to the house, you know you have something special."

Giving each other a breather

Now, for the first time, Cobbs and Thomas will be playing together. That's another statistical anomaly since 1970: two I-A rushing champions playing for the same team the same season.

"In any program, you would be surprised to have that situation, whether you are at North Texas or Alabama," said North Texas athletics director Rick Villarreal, a former college football coach. "Yet when you get to know these kids, it is not hard to figure out. They are kids who, in every area of their life, take care of business."

Cobbs has one degree in applied arts and sciences and is expected to get another in sociology by December. Thomas hasn't had any problems with his major in applied arts and sciences despite his learning disability, Dickey said.

They never miss workouts or practice. Cobbs also plays on the punt block and punt return teams. Both can be pass receivers, although Cobbs is more advanced.

So who starts? North Texas lists its 2005 starting I-back as Cobbs or Thomas. The Sun Belt Conference lists them as co-preseason Most Valuable Offensive Players as voted by the coaches and selected media.

"At times, they will play in the same backfield," Dickey said. "We don't see it as being a problem because of the type of kids they are. They became very good friends. Patrick went on every trip (after he got hurt). Over the course of the season, when Jamario would come off the field, the first person with him was Patrick. He would go talk to him, and Patrick would say, 'Here is what they are doing.' "

Dickey said both have great vision and balance. He gives the edge in speed to Thomas and the edge in strength to Cobbs. He hints at a split backfield but still a variation of North Texas' run-oriented I-offense.

"It is very tough to have them sit on the sideline a long period of time," offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan said. "The toughest thing is figuring out what they don't do well. ... Fortunately and unfortunately for us, they do everything well."

Said senior offensive lineman Dylan Lineberry: "Patrick is more of a bruiser. Jamario is more of a slippery guy. He makes two or three guys miss."

Cobbs and Thomas said they are looking forward to getting breathers this year. In 2003 Cobbs carried the ball more than 30 times in six games. In 2004 Thomas rushed more than 30 times in six games, including a season-high 41 against Louisiana-Monroe. Fewer carries might mean more durability for both. Like Cobbs, Thomas has added muscle and weighs about 215.

"Me and Jamario will get to split time," Cobbs said. "It will be double duty for the defense."

No stranger to adversity

As Dickey looks out his office window in a new athletic complex toward busy I-35, he can only chuckle at his good fortune to have found these backs. He needed some luck. Coaching in a cash-strapped program that has had to play road games against Oklahoma, Texas, LSU, Kansas State, Alabama and Arkansas for a big-money guarantee hasn't been easy.

And last season, North Texas' starting quarterback, Andrew Smith, was killed in an auto accident in early August, only three days before fall drills were to begin.

Smith's death and Cobbs' injury could have wrecked the season had Thomas not popped up and led the nation in rushing.

"Our kids know how to work and how to handle adversity because we have had a ton of it," Dickey said, alluding to tough non-conference slates that resulted in 0-5, 1-5, 1-3 and 0-4 starts from 2001-04 but ended in Sun Belt titles.

But overcoming adversity isn't always rewarded or noticed. That's particularly true for North Texas' star running backs.

Neither Cobbs in 2003 nor Thomas in 2004 was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's best running back by the Dallas-based SMU Athletic Forum.

Because the Sun Belt competition isn't perceived as strong as the Big 12's might be one reason the North Texas players are bypassed. But Dickey noted that Thomas averaged 6.9 yards last year against three Big 12 teams and 6.6 against Sun Belt teams.

"I feel like if it was somebody at Oklahoma or Oklahoma State or if North Carolina had the numbers these kids had, they'd be among the top eight," Dickey said.

Flanigan, a former Southern Methodist quarterback, suspects this all has to do with SMU, a traditional football school, looking down on North Texas. "It would not look good for (SMU officials) for a little, poor school up the road to win their prestigious award. But those are things which drive our kids and our coaches."

Chris Rentzel, chair of the SMU Athletic Forum board, said Thomas was considered just like the other freshmen for the 2004 Doak Walker Award, which was won by Texas senior Cedric Benson.

"It honestly had nothing to do with anti-North Texas SMU bias," Rentzel said. "Jamario was turning up yards, but nobody was seeing it."

Thomas' and Cobbs' names are going to be submitted for this season. SMU begins a two-game series in 2006 with North Texas.

Anticipating good results

Neither player seems too concerned about the Doak Walker Award. They are more focused on leading the Mean Green to a fifth consecutive Sun Belt title and extending a 25-game league winning streak. But they will have to do it with a quarterback who has never taken a snap in college.

A starting quarterback must emerge from several candidates in fall drills. Yet the Mean Green entered the 2002 season with no experience at quarterback and still won the Sun Belt title. So it can be done, Dickey said. And North Texas' 1-2 punch at running back has a chemistry all its own. It's the buzz of North Texas this summer.

"The fans will be giddier than I will be," Flanigan said of the double-trouble backfield. "My biggest nightmare is messing them up. We know what they can do individually. I have to find balance."

What's new in the Sun Belt

Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State left for the Western Athletic Conference, and Florida Atlantic and Florida International join as Division I-A's newest members. ... The league's contract with ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN Regional TV will result in more than 25 games being nationally or regionally televised, the most in league history. ... After leading Troy to its first bowl game a year ago, coach Larry Blakeney was rewarded with a contract extension through May 2009. Blakeney has coached the Trojans since 1991 and has won more games (115) than any other football coach in school history. ... Florida International, which inaugurated its program three years ago, will field its first senior class this season with 26 on the roster.

Teams in the coaches' poll: None

Bowl tie-in: Wyndham New Orleans.

Danny Sheridan's odds:

• Middle Tennessee State 2:1

• Louisiana-Monroe 3:1

• North Texas 4:1

• Florida Atlantic 5:1

• Florida International 5:1

• Troy 6:1

• Louisiana-Lafayette 10:1

• Arkansas State 15:1

Coming Tuesday: Mountain West