Cobb Rights His Direction : Buccaneers: Tailback ran amok in college, but these days he’s running toward a 1,000-yard season.

Reggie Cobb knows all about running.

Running with the wrong crowd.

Running to the cocaine dealer and being run off his college football team.

Running scared.

And, of course, running with a football.

In less than three seasons at Tennessee, Cobb ran for 2,360 yards, but he was twice suspended for drug use, and that carries a label one never really runs away from. His talent obvious but his problems verified in a lab, Cobb lasted until the second round in 1990, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance.

A wild child became a man, and these days, Cobb is running away from his past and into a 1,000-yard season.

“I just had to grow up, to be honest,” Cobb said. “I think everybody makes mistakes when they’re younger, because you don’t see the total picture when you’re young.

“Once I got (drafted), I realized just how fortunate I was to get another opportunity. To go through the things I went through and still go in the second round was a hell of an accomplishment. A lot of guys go through their whole careers and don’t even get drafted. So I have a lot to be thankful for.”

As do the Bucs, who are getting their money’s worth and more this season. Three-fourths of the way through 1992, Cobb has 916 yards. That’s already the third-best single-season performance in team history. And he’s been consistent. Cobb, Pittsburgh’s Barry Foster and Dallas’ Emmitt Smith are the only backs in the league to rush for 60 yards or more in the last nine games.

“Reggie’s problems were something that happened a long time ago,” Tampa Bay Coach Sam Wyche said. “Guys, when they’re young like that, sometimes have things happen to them that trail them for awhile, but he’s been nothing but first-rate since I’ve been here.

“He’s been a real bright spot for us. He’s one of those guys who has a personality that’s always on, in a football sense. He comes to play every Sunday and he practices hard every time out there. He’s a guy who wants to know why things are done, not just what he’s supposed to do, but why they’re done so he can better understand it.

“During the course of the season, I’ve seen his development in a very, very positive way. This guy has become a leader on the team. He’s going to be a long-time pro, barring injury. I mean a long-time, big-time pro.”

Cobb may already be the best back you never heard of, a label he clearly doesn’t relish. It doesn’t help to play in Tampa Bay for a team that has compiled a 13-31 record during the three seasons Cobb has been suiting up in red, white and orange.

Sunday night, the 4-8 Bucs play host to the 4-8 Rams. The game will be televised by ESPN. The folks at “60 Minutes” aren’t exactly shaking in their Gucci loafers, but, for Cobb, it’s a chance for a little exposure. A few fanatics figure to be watching.

“It’s as close as we get to prime-time,” Cobb said, chuckling. “We’d like to make a good showing because a lot of the guys who play on Sunday come home and watch the Sunday night game. And there will be some people around the country who’ll watch, so hopefully we can make a good showing and impress some people.”

Cobb has wowed TV audiences before. He racked up 225 yards--including a 79-yard touchdown run--in a nationally televised game against Auburn as a junior. Two weeks later, he was suspended from the team.

So respect has become a relative term for Cobb.

“I’d much rather have my team winning than to concentrate on individual things because it is a team sport,” Cobb said. “But when the season’s over, how running backs are measured is who got 1,000 yards. That’s kind of the plateau that puts you in the upper echelon of running backs in the league.”

He’s already the third-leading rusher in Tampa Bay history, and this year he’s the seventh-leading rusher in the NFL, but earning recognition remains a slow process for Cobb. The Bucs don’t make a lot of national TV appearances, and Cobb isn’t really a Sunday-Night-highlight-show kind of tailback. His longest run this season was a 25-yard effort against the Lions.

Cobb makes his living between the tackles, moving the pile forward and breaking tackles. Cobb gets high marks from Ram Coach Chuck Knox, who says the measure of a running back is what he does after the first contact.

Cobb also seems to get better when other guys are getting tired. He’s averaged almost 4.5 yards per rush and has scored six of his team-high seven touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters.

“Reggie’s got very powerful legs, he’s quick and he breaks tackles,” Wyche said. “We use him as a blocker, a runner, a receiver, he does all that.”

Wyche uses Cobb all ways and on almost all plays. Consider the Bucs’ first scoring drive against Green Bay last week. They went 71 yards in 11 plays. Cobb rushed the ball seven times and caught a pass.

A heavy workload is a burden Cobb will bear with a smile. He says he’s two years behind in carries, so he’ll gladly make up the difference this season.

During Cobb’s rookie season, Coach Ray Perkins had him playing fullback. Under Perkins’ successor, Richard Williamson, Cobb made an impact--rushing for a team-leading 752 yards--but he spent the first five games of the season on the bench.

“I think I’ve always had the ability, I just never got the opportunity before,” Cobb said. “Now I’m in a situation where I have coaches who believe in me and teammates who believe in me, and you can’t ask for much more than that.

“And I know my role each week. Last year, I didn’t know if I was going to get the ball, or even play. I didn’t know what was going on.”

He wasn’t too sure what was in store for 1992, either. The Bucs had yet another new coach and Wyche’s reputation as a passing-game whiz wasn’t exactly encouraging. Cobb admits he had his doubts because he didn’t feel 11 games were enough to solidify his position in the backfield.

In a show of good faith, however, Cobb signed a new contract on the eve of training camp and reported with guarded hopes.

“Shortly after Sam got here, he told me he was going to give me the chance to be an 1,000-yard rusher,” Cobb said. “And he’s done that.”

Wyche, however, says he brought no preconceived notions with him from Cincinnati. Cobb had to earn the job.

“Having been in the AFC for so many years and rarely playing the Bucs, I just didn’t know this team that well,” Wyche said. “We listened to everyone’s opinions and then just started in on it.

“As it turned out, Reggie just fit. He seemed to run the offense well, the blockers seemed to time up well with him and he just blossomed.”

His bloom is black and blue now, but it’s the kind of pain Cobb can handle.

“I’m holding up as well as can be expected,” he said. “I think it’s just natural that at this time of year, your body just doesn’t heal up as fast as it does early in the year.

“But, hey, it’s just a few nicks and bruises, nothing major, and you have to be happy with that.”