Patrick Cobbs Hit the Football Lottery with RB Caleb Hawkins But for Months He Worried He’d Lose Him to Oklahoma State

STILLWATER — On Tuesday afternoon, running back Caleb Hawkins was one of the last players to take off his orange uniform and leave the practice facility.

There was a time when that sight was running backs coach Patrick Cobbs’ greatest fear when it came to the running back from Shawnee.

“I was scared the entire time after I offered him that I was going to lose him,” Cobbs said.

The former North Texas assistant was worried about one school in particular — Oklahoma State.

“I figured Oklahoma State has came in and offered a bunch of kids right after I’ve offered them,” Cobbs said. “And I’ve lost them to ‘em: (multiple) Presleys, Jaleel Johnson, like I’ve offered a bunch of kids that end up leaving North Texas and coming to Oklahoma State. And that’s what I was worried about. … He slipped through the cracks, and I was kind of thankful for it.”

Even as a fellow native of Shawnee, Cobbs almost missed out on Hawkins as well. He just happened to see him at a camp, of course, once they were in the same place, he couldn’t help but notice him.

“Every time he touched the ball, he scored a touchdown,” Cobbs said. “So it was a pretty easy evaluation. He probably only touched it twice, scored two touchdowns, went to defense, ran around well, and had the size and the frame, and I seen enough to get him to camp. And then once he got to camp, he blew me away.”

Cobbs still can’t believe he got Hawkins without having to fight off other schools for him. North Texas was his only Division-I offer.

“It’s weird that Caleb all-stated in basketball and track and didn’t all-state in football. … That was the thing when you watched his film,” Cobb said. “People don’t know he played 130 snaps a game. He played every snap on defense, every snap on offense. Sometimes his film probably didn’t look like it was super explosive. But once you go watch the kid and see him play and how competitive he is, it’s easy.”

On the surface, it would seem like Cobbs probably got tipped off by folks back home, but he insisted that wasn’t the case. However, once the offer came out, several mutual connections called the UNT coach to let him know that Hawkins had the character to back up his play on the field.

When asked if landing Hawkins, a back that just led the nation with 29 touchdowns in 2025, virtually unopposed out of high school, was equivalent to hitting the lottery, Cobbs agreed with the premise.

“Yeah, I mean, initially, and then when he hits the portal, then we got to fight everybody,” Cobbs said. “But the kid is loyal. He’s a super smart kid. He understands what’s got him there.

“He understands that he still needs to grow, and there’s so much more for him to learn. But, I mean, that’s just kind of part of it. You go out, you do your homework, you find the guys, and you hope you can hold on to him.”

Of course, from now on, Cobbs’ recruiting efforts look a lot different. He no longer has to worry about anyone at Oklahoma State.

“It makes me feel a lot better,” Cobbs said. “It’s a different feeling. You know, I’ve recruited Oklahoma for the last eight years, and so Oklahoma State’s always kind of been the people that I’ve kinda had to fight off in North Texas. Just because I go out, you find these guys, and then last minute, and they always waited till the last minute to take my guy from me. Which was kind of, you know, kind of stinky. But now that you’re on the other side of it. So now I can go find those guys, and I can keep those guys. I’m not worried about Oklahoma State coming to take them from me.”