Red Wolves Saturdays

Iron Sharpens Iron: Building a Winning Mindset with Chauncy Cobb

• Butch Jones

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The transfer portal makes quitting feel convenient, but Chauncy Cobb’s story is the opposite: he stayed, worked, and forced his moment to show up. We’re joined by the Arkansas State wide receiver to talk about growing up in small-town Florida, losing his father and then his uncle, and leaning on his mother and grandmother for the steady push to keep chasing football. That background sets the tone for a real conversation about resilience, identity, and what it means to bet on your own process.

We dig into what it’s like to wait your turn in college football, then suddenly break through as a playmaker. Chauncey shares the advice he carried from former Red Wolf Courtney Jackson (now with the New York Giants), why accountability beats excuses, and how Arkansas State football builds culture day by day. You’ll also hear the lighter side of team life, from Jonesboro food picks to a quick-fire “name game” that shows how much personality lives inside the building.

Then we rewind to the moments that define a season: winning on the road at App State in freezing conditions, earning bowl eligibility, and heading to Frisco, Texas, for a bowl trip that felt big because the preparation was even bigger. If you care about player development, team leadership, and what actually creates winning habits, this one delivers. 

Subscribe, share with a Red Wolves fan, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: when has patience paid off for you? Follow us on socials @arkansasstatemedianetwork.

New Studio And Big Goals

SPEAKER_01

Okay, Chauncey, we're really excited. We're in the new confines of our new studio here on the campus of Arkansas State University. And uh wow, what a great platform that we're gonna have for our football program to really kind of let everyone see what our players are about, really go into the details of our football program, and we're coming after new heights. So, Travis and Jason, we're coming after you. So we got a lot of work to do, but uh we're coming after you. I know you guys will get a chuckle out of that, but I'm joined by Chauncey Cobb, one of our receivers here, and um just excited to have you on as we continue to grow

Chauncey’s Florida Roots And Loss

SPEAKER_01

this platform. But kind of tell us a little bit about you, where you're from, and how your journey began and how you ended up in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so I'm Chauncey Cobb. I'm from a small town named Cliston, Florida. It's kind of down in the south coast of West Palm Beach. So I grew up in a small town. I got one younger brother, his name is Chase. Uh my father, he was deceased when I was like 10 years old, so that played a big role in my life. Then my uncle stepped up to be my role, my role model, my father figure. Then he got deceased too, like two years after that. So growing up was kind of rough for me and my family. But my grandmother, she stepped in, my mother, she always pushed me to be the best version of myself daily, and for me to pursue football still. So I committed here uh 2022, my high school year, my senior year. I came in 2023, wasn't getting the playtime that I wanted, but I just kept my head down, just looking up to the older guys and watching them lead and taking in their footsteps. So I finally got my time to play last year and I took advantage of it, and I'm just being the best leader I can for my team right

Patience In The Transfer Portal Era

SPEAKER_00

now.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think you know, I get the question, you're in the portal era. And when you don't get the immediate results, what you want, sometimes, you know, we think we deserve what we want. And so if you don't get what you want right away, you think it's always easier to go somewhere else. And you didn't do that. You know, you you really didn't play your first two years very sparingly. Third year, you burst onto the scene. One of our playmakers came out of nowhere, um, all conference football player. What made you keep going? What was your journey? Who kind of inspired you to say, hey, I'm gonna be where my feet are. I'm gonna take advantage of that platform that I had year three. Just kind of take us through your mindset.

SPEAKER_00

So I can say uh big shout out to Courtney Jackson. He was kind of one of my role models, kind of the person that I looked to, and I he was an ear that I can lean on.

SPEAKER_01

Now with the New York Giants, by the way.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so shout out to Court, man. But I can't say like he just kept telling me to keep my head down and keep going after it because the grass is not always green on the other side. I can say he always told me that grass never green on the other side. So I know it's something like if I wasn't playing, I knew it wasn't the coach's decision, it had to be myself. So I just had to keep going, like putting in the work when nobody's looking and just trusting my process every every day that had to come out on the field.

SPEAKER_01

We

What Red Wolves Culture Means

SPEAKER_01

noticed that you're wearing a culture sweatshirt. So talk to us about the culture within the Arkansas State football program. And you had mentioned Courtney Jackson, but being a younger player at the time and being around people that really kind of inspired you to keep going. But talk about the culture when it comes to Arkansas State football.

SPEAKER_00

I can say the culture when it comes to Arkansas State is very big. I can say we all know we got each other, we know all of the coaches got our back, and we got the coaches back at the same time. And I also can't say that like they always the older guys, we always try to lead the younger guys to pick up the standard kind of fast because we know like I can't say like um we try to lead the younger guys to get the standard fast because we know that they can do it, and we know that they if they can like if they connect with us right now, if they buy in right now, we can be a great football team.

Jonesboro Food Picks And Ice Cream

SPEAKER_01

All right, so let's I'm gonna switch gears on you a little bit. Let's talk about the swag of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Okay. So if you have one place to go eat in Jonesboro, where are you going?

SPEAKER_00

Uh one place I can go eat, I'm I'm picking Mama Sane.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Mama Sane. That one kind of surprised me. All right. You go to Mama Sane. Now where are you going to next? Next?

SPEAKER_00

For another food or like for dessert anything?

SPEAKER_01

Your choice.

SPEAKER_00

Uh dessert. I'm a big ice cream guy. I'm going to Andes.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. For a lot of people who don't understand what Andes is, it can be very dangerous because once you go, you're always going.

SPEAKER_00

Andy's is a is a good frozen, frozen um ice cream place. It's like they got all types of flavors of ice cream. So if y'all ever get a chance, please go check it out.

SPEAKER_01

And we have one right by our facility. So it's very, very convenient. Okay. Favorite food?

SPEAKER_00

I'm a big, I'm a big wing guy. I like chicken wings. Okay, what flavor? Hot lemon pepper.

SPEAKER_01

I like spicy food. Okay. You're going to have wings in JB. Where are you going?

SPEAKER_00

Uh it's going to surprise you, but I'm going to JJ Wings.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. JJ Wings. Are you getting fries with it? Are you dipping it in ranch or cheese?

SPEAKER_00

Nah, I like my wings in ranch, and I definitely got it. Every time you get wings, you gotta go fries with it. You gotta go. Celery or carrots? Uh nah, I'm not a big celery guy.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

Name Game And Achilles Story

SPEAKER_01

We're gonna play a name game, and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. All right, let's do it. Okay. Coach Derek left. Claim to be fast. Very slow. Poor athlete. So I'll tell you a funny story is last year we're in a staff meeting and um kind of lecturing to the staff that they're all getting older. Yeah, and they were playing pickup basketball. And I said, nothing good comes with playing pickup basketball. Everywhere I've been, uh, whether it was Alabama, West Virginia, we always had somebody tear their Achilles tenant, right? So I'm lecturing to him, and there is one person in the room that I promise you that's not listening, and that's Derek Letting. And so had the lecture. The next day he comes in and he's like, Coach, you don't want to hear this. I tore my Achilles, so I don't know if I jinxed him or what. So if you remember last spring he was coaching on a scooter, on the scooter, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so we're gonna keep going um with the name game. Okay. They're one of the best wide receivers to ever play here, Corey Rucker.

SPEAKER_00

I got a lot of words for him. I can say he's very energetic. Very energetic. That's my boy shot at him, also.

SPEAKER_01

New strength coach, Ben Armour. Competitive. Okay. Offensive coordinator, coach Garrett. Garrett Altman. Funny. Funny. Okay. Running back coach Kenny Hill.

SPEAKER_00

Uh inspiring. Okay. Inspiring.

SPEAKER_01

Offensive line coach Nick Grimes.

SPEAKER_00

Coach Grimy. He's very, I can say he's a jokester.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Jokester. So you're seeing we have a lot of personality.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, we do. There's a whole lot of personality.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, let's switch gears. The defensive coordinator, Griff McCarley.

SPEAKER_00

Who uh coach Griff. Uh I can say he's very nice. You don't look nice, like his face expressions don't give off nice, but if you give him the smile, he's a very cool guy.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. You go against him every day on the opposite side of the ball, Jalen Ortiz. Uh he's very opening. I can say. Okay. So let's stay with the DBs. We're going one-on-ones in practice. Yes, sir. Iron sharpens iron. You're gonna go against any DB that you can pick on our team. Who are you picking?

SPEAKER_00

Uh picking Noah Flores, a new new guy that just came in. He does he hates to lose, and we always go at it every day. And I hate to lose also. We both competitive, and we just every time we get up there, I know he's gonna be first, I know I'm gonna be first also.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

Winning At App State In Cold

SPEAKER_01

Let's push the rewind button. Okay. We have to go on the road, final game of the year. We just lost a heartbreaker on the final play of the game. We have to kind of recalibrate, we have to get ready to go, and we have to go on the road uh and play an App State football team that had only lost, uh I believe, 15 games since joining the FBS and go on the road in their environment in the cold of about 22 degrees on top of a mountain, and you have to come away with a victory. Talk to us a little bit about that journey of that week of preparation, um, that journey of going to Boone, North Carolina, and then the game itself, and then the celebration afterwards.

SPEAKER_00

I can say so that week of preparation, I knew we was gonna win the game after our Tuesday practice. Like, because you always preach with us that like you win the you win the game throughout the week, not just on Saturdays. So I can say our preparation that week of the game, it was the most, like I can say for me, it was the best practice we had, the best week of practice we had all season. I can say then leading up to that game, we knew it was like it was it wasn't the pressure wasn't like really a must-win, but we knew like we had to win this game to be get both eligible. I just feel like the all my teammates had it on their mind of like, okay, we like we like we're not gonna go out here and lose. We're gonna go out here and trust our tools, trust our preparation, and we're gonna go out here and win. And I can say the celebration at that game, it was it was the best, one of my best moments of my life because I know like my team had my back, and I know I had their back also for us fighting every inch, every down, just for us to come off of that win and being both eligible.

SPEAKER_01

What about playing in the elements with that cold, you know, being with Cluest in Florida? Yeah. Was that the coldest game you ever played in?

SPEAKER_00

The coldest game I ever played in. That was the cold I ever I think I've ever been in, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01

And no long sleeves. No long sleeves. Okay, so how did you stay warm and how did you stay focused?

SPEAKER_00

I can say I stay warm throughout the game, like when defense on the field, just moving around a lot, stand by the heaters, I can say. And then I can say me staying focused in the game, just knowing like I can't like I can't let like the weather dictate my outcome of how I'm playing. I just had to like stay focused and lock in. I had to like try to get everybody on the same page that I was on.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, now let's stay on task.

Frisco Bowl Trip And Big TD

SPEAKER_01

So we have a great victory at App State. Okay, but now it's one thing to go play in a bowl game, it's another to win the bowl game. So we get a great opportunity to go to a great venue in Frisco, Texas, the Xbox Bowl, which we all think is going to be around for a very, very long time. So talk about the bowl experience of being in Frisco, and then the environment of playing where the Dallas Cowboys play every single day. Our fan base showing up, the game itself. You had a very, very big touchdown catch as well. Uh you mimic some people with your touchdown celebration. But kind of talk about the bowl experience, the game itself, and then also the celebration after that.

SPEAKER_00

I can say the bowl spirit was a great experience. That like that was one of the best bowl sites I think I like a college player can ever go to. Like just the like the events we did, the the gifts they gave us, it was a great one to remember. And I can always remember that one. And I can say like the game, I can say like uh my team, our team, we was locked in, I can say, and didn't nobody really go out. Like, we I said we we experienced the bowl site, but we didn't like very like go out at like past midnight or anything like that. So just us staying locked in and staying true to you and staying true to our team, just not even just the coaches. Then I can say the celebration, it was just a big one. I I'm not a big celebrating guy, but like when I get in the end zone, I know I gotta do something. Then we guys, the fan base, that was like that was that was top, that was top five. That's not big.

SPEAKER_01

From the band to the cheer squad. Um, you could feel Red Wolf Nation. You know, how about when we were going to the team movie the night before the game and we're walking through the lobby and the lobby's packed and you know they start cheering, and you know that they're there for one reason, they're there to watch us perform. And then, you know, I obviously again walking through the lobby on our way to the buses, you know, that was for me, that was one of the most unique experiences to really feel our fan base come out and really support us. Yes, sir. Okay. So,

Community Life And May Vacation

SPEAKER_01

all right, football player to Arkansas State. What's the best things that come along with that?

SPEAKER_00

I can say just meeting new people in the community. Like, you never know like who you meet, or like you never know who's watching you. I can say that. Like, you'll be surprised how many like people that know you, but you don't know them also. So I can say like you never know, like you might need them in the long run, I can say. I can just say like I just love meeting new people.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so we soon have May coming up, and you guys have an extended time off of about three weeks. What will you choose to do with your time in the month of May?

SPEAKER_00

I can't say in the uh in the month of May, I got my I'm gonna spend a lot with my family. I haven't seen them since I've been home. I can say it's been a little while, so I know they miss me, and I miss them also. But I can't say uh we're taking a like a family vacation. We're going to to DR May 15th through the 18th. Have you been there before? Never been there.

SPEAKER_01

What made y'all choose that?

SPEAKER_00

My nana, she just like she likes going out of the country and she haven't been in a while, and she never like none of us never been there. So she And how long will you be there? For three days. Okay. Three days. So it'll be a short trip? Yes, sir. So who's all going? Me, my nana, two of my closest friends from home, my little brother, and my mother.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So when you talk about all the people that are important in your life and back home, do they get an opportunity to come watch you play at all?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, sir. They love to. They always they they love Jones Bower more than I love Jones Borough, I can say.

SPEAKER_01

They probably know all the places. Yes, they know they know everything about have you bring have you brought them to your favorite food spots?

SPEAKER_00

I haven't, not yet.

SPEAKER_01

Have they had Andy's ice cream? Yes, they have. So we probably need Andy's to be a sponsor.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, we will love that.

SPEAKER_01

You know, we're giving them a lot of love today so we could use that sponsorship. You know, one of the things that changed this year is you're able to have patches on your jerseys now. And what a pathway um for somebody to advertise, yeah, you know. So maybe we can do player the game or something and make it Andy's for a week or something. Now, some guys can't.

SPEAKER_00

Not everybody, not everybody can't have it for a week. They'll get stuck on it.

SPEAKER_01

I'm gonna put you on the spot here. I'm gonna relax a little bit. I'm gonna let you ask me anything you want to ask. I can see we're gonna see kind of your podcast skills.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, bad, we're back. Well,

What Coaching Means To The Head Coach

SPEAKER_00

what's what was your most exciting point, like being a head coach? Only not just here, just like from anywhere.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, there's a lot of things. I think, first of all, it's about relationships. You know, the relationships that you build, you know, a lot of the former players are getting married now, going to their weddings, celebrating that. You know, a lot of guys in the National Football League, but I think it's all the relationships that you build along the time. Then obviously you have great moments at each spot, um, you know, from games to relationships to all that. So, you know, it's really kind of what do we always say? Your life, your life is really a byproduct of all your experiences. So you put them all into that. Um, so I would have to say though, the biggest thing is just, you know, your former players and your players, and um, it's really hard for me. You know, a lot of them now are getting older. Now they're fathers, um, they're married. You know, I still kind of view them as being 18 to 22 years old. So when you see them, you see, you know, how much they've grown and how much they've matured.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, I'm gonna switch it up right here. Uh, so I know you're a big

Sneaker Talk And Favorite Jordans

SPEAKER_00

shoes guy. What's your favorite shoe brand? Oh, I have a lot of them.

SPEAKER_01

Um, but you have to go with the Jordan brand. You know, I'm a Jordan 11 guy, I have small feet. Yeah, um, what size shoe you wear? Eight and a half. See, we wear the same size, so we can share shoes. Yeah, we can. So I have to be careful. So I like the Jordan 11 lows, um, but I also like the Jordan ones, highs and lows. So I think you got to change it up. You know, everything is obviously the color coding with your with your outfit. Uh-huh. Um, but also there's sometimes of designer shoes as well and the designer brands. And sometimes you can take a sweatsuit outfit or joggers and you can dress them up with dress shoes and sneakers. Yes, sir. So um I really like anything and everything when it comes to sneakers.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. So I can say uh my last question I got for you, because I just what's your favorite brand? My favorite shoe brand, I love Jordan also. All right, what number? I gotta go for us. Really? Yeah, I love Jordan Forrest. I always grew up with him. Like, and then my uncle, he was a big shoe guy, so we like we used to like fun fact, we used to camp out for shoes. Like, we used to stay the night outside the store just to get like, just to be the first one to buy the new shoe. Every new shoe, every shoe. So do you remember your first Jordan ever? I don't. I don't remember my first Jordan ever. That's a good question, though. But my nana, she's like, she's a big fashion like type

How A Coaching Career Began

SPEAKER_00

of lady. She loves dressing up. What's your favorite color? Red. Red. Red. Has it always been red?

SPEAKER_01

Always been red. Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I can say I really got two. I really like dominant colors because like you can wear like I can say I like beige also. It's not my favorite, but I like beige because you can wear like beige with like I won't say anything, but like you can majority of everything.

SPEAKER_01

What do you think my favorite color is?

SPEAKER_00

Gray.

SPEAKER_01

Nope.

SPEAKER_00

I don't give a more gifts. Uh black.

SPEAKER_01

Nope.

SPEAKER_00

Although I wear a lot of black. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01

Blue. Blue, okay. Yeah. And you know, if you really look at your closet, a lot of times you have the exact same thing, maybe a little bit different, and you usually have the same colors as well.

SPEAKER_00

Well, me, I'm like, I'm a very, I'm a very like, I like light colors. I can say I'm not really a dark person, like dark color type of person. But my last question I got for you, Coach, I can say, um, did you always knew you wanted to coach like growing up?

SPEAKER_01

You know, um, no, I didn't. I really didn't know what I wanted to do. Um, I was a big football fan, a big sports fan. You know, I had 62 individuals in my graduating class. So it was very small. Grew up in Michigan, Lake Michigan. My father was the chief of police, my mother was the hospital administrator. So we had to make, I had to make every break I could possibly get. I was a huge Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. And when Ray Perkins, who ironically was a former head coach here at Arkansas State, when he became the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I wrote him and wrote their organization for probably a long time. And I got an opportunity to work training camp and it just took off from there. And I think once coaching gets in your blood um and you really experience that, um, it continues to grow to a point where this is really all I know. This is really all my family knows. Um, from obviously Barb to you know, Andrew, Adam, and and Alex is this is all we know. We're a football family. Um, so it's been a great journey, but you know, initially didn't know what I want to do. I thought I was gonna be a police officer. But when I had an opportunity to experience football at, you know, really in the National Football League, starting off and then a grad assistant at Rutgers, um, and just worked your way up Division III, division two, um, assistant coach at the mid-American level. So it's been a journey, but I think once I really kind of learned what the coaching profession was about and how you can shape lives, um, I was never gonna leave it.

Why College Football Bonds Last

SPEAKER_01

Yes, sir. What do you like most about playing college football?

SPEAKER_00

Uh most I like about playing college football, I mean, I'm obviously just making plays, but I also can say just like my teammates, like the locker room. Like, I know like them weren't really gonna be the guys that like just gonna be in my wedding. And I know like my nana always told me when I when I first came to college, oh, you think you got your best friends now? Wait till you get to college, you're gonna meet your best friends. And I can't say I did meet my best friends right now in college.

SPEAKER_01

It sounds like your Nana has brought you a lot of wisdom along.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, she just she did. I love my nana.

SPEAKER_01

Shout out to her.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, shout out to Nana.

SPEAKER_01

Now, will they be coming to the spring game?

SPEAKER_00

No, say not the spring game. They they they got stuff to do.

SPEAKER_01

So they but they'll be there a lot next year.

SPEAKER_00

They will be here probably every game next year.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

First Guest Wrap Up

SPEAKER_01

Yes, sir. Well, really, this you know, you're the first annual guest, uh, first guest ever on this podcast. Yes, sir. And what a great platform for our football program and Dr. Todd Shields making this a reality. And, you know, we'll continue to bring players on, kind of teach everyone about our program and really how we're gonna elevate our program and continue to move forward. But what a great platform that we have. Uh, you know I love you. Yes, sir. I love you. And too. I appreciate you being on here, and we look forward to seeing everyone here very soon again. Wolves up. Yes, sir. Go Red Wolves.