Veteran Keithavious Cobey leads way for Dougherty

ALBANY – Keithavious Cobey is used to the good-hearted teasing that he receives from his teammates.

One of just eight seniors on the Dougherty High School football team, Cobey will hear his teammates refer to him as old-fashioned, but it is something that he has come to embrace.

“I really just always try to do what is right on and off the field,” Cobey said. “They call me old or old-fashioned, but that is cool with me.”

Cobey is one of the leaders on defense as a four-year starter at linebacker. He led the Dougherty defense with 95 tackles last season and also registered three sacks and forced a fumble.

In addition to linebacker, Cobey also plays some at running back.

“He is one of the hardest working guys I’ve seen in the classroom as well as on the field,” Dougherty coach Corey Joyner said. “He is a great kid and has really demonstrated what we want here at Dougherty. If we are going to get ourselves better, we have to have more guys like him.”

Earlier this season in a game with Westover, Cobey recorded more than 20 tackles, but Joyner said that wasn’t even the most impactful thing the senior did.

“We had a younger linebacker playing and Cobey was telling him what to do,” Joyner said. “He kept helping direct the younger kids and I was just listening to everything he said. You just let guys like him kind of have their way.”

Cobey, who transferred from another school, wasn’t even part of the team at the start of his freshman year.

“I got a message from a church member,” Joyner said. “The member said ‘Hey man, your best football player isn’t out there.’ We checked him out that Monday morning and he has been starting ever since then.”

As his high school career has progressed, Cobey has grown more comfortable with his leadership role. As a senior, he knows that many of the younger kids look to him for help.

“I try to lead by example,” Cobey said. “I want to do things right the first time so the other kids see that.”

Cobey also excels in the classroom. The linebacker has a grade-point average above three and wants to play football and major in criminal justice in college.

“My mother doesn’t really tolerate all that playing in class,” Cobey said. “She always wants us to put the classroom before football and that’s always how it has been.”

Cobey seems to have a bright future whether it is on or off the field.