Kobee Minor Talks Transition From Texas Tech to Indiana During Spring Practice
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After entering the transfer portal, Kobee Minor's phone rang.
"Hey man, you're going to have a real good opportunity to play here and play against the top talent day in and day out, every game throughout the season," Minor recalls Indiana cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby pitching to him.
Minor began his college football career at Texas Tech, where he appeared in 23 games across three seasons, but always in a backup role. Over 1,000 miles away, a pair of veteran, All-Big Ten cornerbacks Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams graduated, and Indiana lost a handful of defensive backs to the transfer portal.
With chance to make his mark, Minor announced his commitment to Indiana on Jan. 9.
"I just saw the opportunity and took it and ran with it," Kobee said after Indiana's spring football practice on Thursday.
Minor joins the Hoosiers with three years of remaining eligibility. He spent the last three seasons at Texas Tech, where he committed as a three-star recruit out of Lake Dallas High School in Corinth, Tex. in the class of 2020.
During the 2021 season, he appeared in 10 games as a backup defensive back and on special teams. He played a season-high 15 snaps against Kansas on defense, making his only tackle of the season. Minor's playing time increased in 2022, taking the field in all 12 regular season games as a backup. He made 12 total tackles, six at Iowa State on Nov. 19, and broke up two passes.
Since arriving in Bloomington, Minor described Indiana as "a big family" and said everyone has welcomed him with open arms.
"All the coaches on the staff are really Christian guys," Minor said. "They make sure you're okay here. They're about the player before, you know what I'm saying. They care about you more than just as a player."
It's quite literally a family for Minor, whose older brother, Darryl, also transferred to Indiana from UTEP. The brothers haven't played together since high school, so it's been a special experience so far.
"Having him back on the same team with me I feel is like the greatest thing," Kobee said. "Because who's closer to me than him?"
Making the transition from Big 12 to Big Ten football, Minor said there's been adjustment to the different style of play. In the Big 12, Minor was accustomed to defending air-raid offenses, but he knows he has to be able to stop the run in the Big Ten, even as cornerback.
He's also noticed bigger-framed, deep-ball-threat wide receivers on Indiana like 6-foot-5 Donaven McCulley, 6-foot-2 Cam Camper and 6-foot-3 E.J. Williams, who transferred from Clemson this offseason. Despite some adjustments, Minor said Indiana's defense is similar to Texas Tech, which has helped grow his understanding of the scheme and improve in man coverage.
Minor said studying the playbook and watching film has helped him become more comfortable as transitions between conferences, and Shelby, the coach who recruited him to Indiana, has been a big part of that.
"Aw man, he's crazy. Coach Shelby is a good dude," Minor said. "He's calm, cool and collected for most of the part, but you know, when you do wrong he's going to let you know ... He really makes me a better player. He's bringing that dog out of me. It's been inside, but he's really embracing it more with me."
Entering his fourth season of college football, Minor said he's tried to establish a leadership role in the corner back room by taking younger players like Trevell Mullen, James Monds, Jamari Shape and others under his wing. Indiana definitely needs that veteran leadership presence after the loss of Mullen and Williams.
"Whatever they need, they can call on me," Minor said. "You want to call and get in extra work, it is what it is, I'll come up and get it ... I really feel like we've got a shot to do something special this year."
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