WEST PALM BEACH – It has been a memorable high school football journey for Ryan Coby.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound linebacker went from no offers or any kind of recognition to three offers and a college home to cherish.
As a transfer from Lake Worth to Cardinal Newman this past offseason, Coby knew he had to make a statement on the field throughout his senior season. He went on to post the following statistics:
•79 total tackles
•10 sacks
•5 fumble recoveries
•2 forced fumbles
•2 pass breakups
•1 interception
After exceeding expectations with his breakout fall campaign at Cardinal Newman, Coby earned offers from Southern Illinois, St. Anselm, and Minot State. All three offers came in a span of a little over two months.
When it was time to make a final college choice, the underrated defender went with Southern Illinois on the morning on January 23.
Coby shared at length the reasoning behind his decision.
“The coaches showed love through the whole season and kept their eye on me,” said Coby, who took a visit to Southern Illinois on the weekend of Jan. 18-19. “After my injury during the state semifinal game, most colleges lost interest. Even through my gruesome injury, they kept their interest in me and wanted me to be apart of their program. On my official visit they showed a lot of love. The chemistry between the players and the coaches were amazing. And also, they have a lot of coaching experience throughout the whole staff.”
Coby will be playing college football at Southern Illinois with fellow senior high school teammate and edge rusher Brennan King. He shared his thoughts on this.
“It feels great knowing I will be lining up with Brennan again on the field,” Coby said. “Through my senior year, me and him were both huge forces on our defense. Both of us were getting huge sacks and tackles for loss (TFL’s), and we plan to continue that to the next level. We built a lot of chemistry during the year due to both being on the same side of the field and dominating.”
Coby went on to reminisce about his high school football mission.
“In my first season of football at Lake Worth High School, there wasn’t much attention. So me wanting to play at the next level, I transferred to Cardinal Newman for a better opportunity,” Coby said. “I came in under the radar with not many people knowing about me as a football player. Playing around a great group of guys and competing everyday at practice, it took my skills up to another level and I went into the season with a chip on my shoulder. I had a great first few games getting my name out in the county racking up sacks and TFLs.”
We will show you two standout games from Coby, which you can see right below.
Coby shared the rest of his on-field experience and his recruiting process.
“As the season progressed I picked up my first three offers and some interest,” Coby said. “Having a great senior season I unfortunately had a bad injury in the state semifinal game, leading to me being carted off the field. Most schools were scared of the injury and stopped recruiting me, but Southern Illinois stayed solid through it and kept their eye on me. This was the love that made me want to play for them at the next level.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Kade Thomas
Muck City Media Enterprises 
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