Kentucky's Cobb does RB drills during Pro Day

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - When Randall Cobb showed up to Kentucky's Pro Day on Thursday, he didn't know what all he would do.

Cobb knew he wasn't going to rerun the 40-yard dash after officially posting a 4.46 - a time he's happy about - at the NFL Combine. He knew he would catch balls as a receiver and even some rout of the backfield.

The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Cobb didn't know he was going to run drills as a running back.

“I had no clue,” said Cobb, a first-team All-American in 2010 as an all-purpose player. “I knew I was going to run some routes out of the backfield but they grabbed me and asked me if I wanted to do it. I said, 'All right, whatever. Let's go.'

“That was good experience.”

Cobb was one of many Kentucky's outgoing players - and the only junior - to work out for NFL scouts at the Pro Day where 26 NFL teams had representatives in attendance to watch them.

Cobb did more positional drills instead of just the Combine's standard tests of athleticism that don't apply to specific positions on the field. He also benefited from being able to run routes and catch passes from Mike Hartline, Cobb's quarterback at Kentucky.

Hartline also worked out for scouts Thursday.

“That was very important,” Cobb said of Hartline throwing him passes instead of a pool of Combine quarterbacks he had never worked with. “Mike had a great day and he threw the ball really well. It was good to be back out here the past few days working with him and getting that feel back. He knows what kind of balls I like and where I like them thrown. I know how he's going to throw it. Being able to have him around, that has helped a lot.”

Once Cobb announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft on Jan. 14, he started working at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Phoenix toward the NFL Combine. Cobb said he arrived back in Lexington to work toward the Pro Day on March 3.

Among other Kentucky seniors that worked out Thursday included running back Derrick Locke, who also took part in the NFL Combine, wide receiver Chris Matthews, defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin and several others. Head coach Joker Phillips said the workout was as important, if not more important, for those who weren't invited to the Combine because they weren't seen as high-level prospects.

“Who knows? It's a funny business,” Phillips said. “All it takes is one team, though, to like you. You look at Alfonso Smith. He went undrafted and he was picked up by the right team, the Arizona Cardinals, and he made the roster.”

Scouts spread out across Kentucky's practice facility to watch players take part in standard drills - 40-yard dash, different shuttle runs, broad jump and vertical leap. But once Cobb and Locke started positional drills, the scouts centered.

And even though running back was one of the few skill positions Cobb never played at Kentucky - he was even the team's first-string holder - he didn't balk at the opportunity to try something new in front of eager eyes.

“They're just trying to see how much versatility I have, do I have the ability to play running back. I'm willing to do everything,” he said. “I've always been willing to do everything. If a team drafts me and decides they want to put me at the running back position, I'm fine working to try to find a way to get better at that.”