Tennessee Titans

Titans RB Cobb: 'I want to be the starter next year'

Published Jan. 5, 2016 6:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

Tennessee Titans running back David Cobb made the first start of his NFL career in Sunday's season-ending 30-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. If he has his way, the starting job will still be his when the 2016 season kicks off next September.

Cobb, a 2015 fifth-round pick out of the University of Minnesota, ran for 73 yards on 19 carries and scored his first touchdown in the Week 17 defeat. He said his goal heading into the offseason is to win the starting job next year.

Via Tennessee's official website:

“I want to be a starter next year,’’ Cobb said. “That is my expectation. Not to be cocky, but that is what I am going to work toward and if I fall short I am going to keep working until I get there.”

The 22-year-old sat out the first nine weeks of the season on injured reserve with a calf injury and finished the year with 52 carries for 146 yards. Cobb likened his rookie season to his experience in college where he waited his turn before running for 2,893 yards and 20 touchdowns his final two seasons.

“It is kind of the same thing I went through at Minnesota,’’ Cobb said. “I didn’t get to play my first couple of years, and I didn’t get the ball. I just had to work, and keep working. Eventually things kind of fell in line and I got an opportunity.

“The key is when you have an opportunity to have to take advantage of it.”

The Titans would certainly welcome it if Cobb stepped up and claimed the job as the featured back. Antonio Andrews led the team in rushing in 2015 with just 520 yards as the team employed a running-back-by-committee approach to running the ball.