Players of the Pine Belt: Taylorsville senior RB Cobey Craft

TAYLORSVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) - The list of talented athletes to come out of Taylorsville is a long one.

“I know that we’re [class] 1A but I’m very glad that I am at Taylorsville school because there’s a lot of great athletes that came,” said Tartars senior running back/linebacker Cobey Craft. “Billy Hamilton, Ty Keyes, Jeffery Pittman, Cedric Beavers – shout out to them. That just inspired me to do better.”

Craft hopes to be the next Tartar to get an opportunity to play college football.

He plays much larger than his 5-foot-10, 188-pound frame.

“One of the knocks on Craft that I think most people are passing on is his height,” said second-year head coach Seth McDonald. “He’s a little undersized as far as height but what makes up for it with the way that he plays the game. He’s got the biggest heart on the field and he’s going to go out and compete every Friday night. I’m glad that he’s on our team.”

McDonald employed “Craft” services 225 times last season to the tune of 1,775 yards rushing and 35 touchdowns.

Craft’s game speaks volumes, but McDonald wants his running back to be loud in the huddle as well.

“When he barks a little bit people tend to listen and jump in line so that’s been a huge asset for us going forward,” McDonald said.

“It gives me an opportunity to help others out any way that I can,” Craft said. “I am a quiet person at times but I gotta be a leader knowing that we have a young team.”

Craft is one of just five seniors but many of the returning Tartars played as freshmen.

They got a little taste of playoff football, eventually falling in the South State championship.

“Being there and having that experience and those guys being hungry and wanting to get back to that spot,” McDonald said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. I takes a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication and those guys have done a great job this summer in doing that. Looking forward to seeing all that work pay off coming forward in the following weeks.”

“All gas, no brakes,” Craft said. “Definitely going to make the best of it. Take every game step by step ‘til we get to that gold ball.”

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