Football seeks Cobb replacement

---

by Erica Levine

---

"Trevor definitely did a lot of good for Rice, both on the field and just with the public," said starting quarterback Bert Emanuel. "But we do have people to fill the hole he left."

Head coach Fred Goldsmith is eyeing four possible replacements for Cobb. The top contender, says Goldsmith, is sophomore Yoncy Edmunds, who was Cobb's backup last year; Goldsmith is quick to add, however, that the race for running back is not yet over.

Sophomore Spencer George and freshmen Rob Newhouse and Jamey Whitlock are three other players that show the talent needed for the position, if not the experience on a college field.

Edmunds gained 27 yards on 16 carries in limited duty behind Cobb in 1992, and showed improvement in his blocking and receiving skills during spring training.

"Right now, Yoncy is performing the best in practice," Goldsmith said. "Also, that year of playing in game situations gives him an edge. But it's still a close race."

Not far behind Edmunds is George, who amassed impressive statistics in his senior season at Beaumont's Hamshire-Fannett High. He rushed for 1,802 yards, scored 26 touchdowns, and averaged 12.1 yards per carry.

Newhouse and Whitlock have also turned in promising performances during early practices. During his senior year at Houston's Lake Highlands High School, Newhouse gained all-city honors with season totals of eight 1,102 yards on 192 carries with eight touchdowns.

Whitlock's senior year was equally notable. He passed for 997 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushed for 883 yards on 139 carries to earn first-team all-district honors at Buda's Hays Consolidated.

"All four of us have pretty good speed and good ability," Whitlock said. "At this point, what's important is thinking of this as a team effort and not a competition. We have some pretty huge games coming up, and we've got to focus on team performance."

The first of these games is the Owls' Sept. 4 visit to Ohio State University, one of the nation's top 15 teams and a perennial Big Ten powerhouse. Four weeks later, Rice will face another tough opponent in its conference opener at the University of Texas, where it hopes to break its 28-year losing streak against the Longhorns.

"Right now, we are focusing on those two games," Emanuel said. "We're going to both Ohio State and [Texas] planning to win. Right now, all we can do is focus on fundamentals and teamwork and take practice one day at a time."

This item appeared in the Sports section of the August 20, 1993 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.