INDIANAPOLIS – Several feet to his left was Travis Hunter. The same distance to his right was Will Johnson. In between, at the podiums for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday morning, was Cobee Bryant.
Hunter and Johnson may be better cornerbacks and will definitely be selected higher at the draft in April. Neither, however, have much on Bryant when it comes to trash talking.
“Just getting in people’s heads,” Bryant said. “That’s one of my games. I kind of (model) my game off Jalen Ramsey, because he does a lot of trash talk as well.”
Ramsey, the fifth overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 and three-time All-Pro who’s also played for the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins, messaged Bryant on Instagram this week. Bryant has been watching Ramsey highlights since high school. Ramsey finally followed him back on the platform recently and was complimentary of Bryant’s game, which was a thrill for him.
The posturing isn’t limited to a game setting. Bryant is a self-described “social-media guy” and often disseminated his thoughts there during his time with the Kansas Jayhawks and offered perspective on opponents. He and Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson had an offseason war of words on X, formerly Twitter, a year ago.
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But the most high-profile trash talk from Bryant came ahead of the Jayhawks’ game against Colorado last season.
“I’m not going to lie, I have been waiting,” Bryant said at the time. “I already marked this on my notes… I’ve been waiting on this game all season. This is gonna be the game.”
Later on social media, he posted, “Now I’m piss (sic) hurry tf (sic) up Saturday I meant that … bet.”
Kansas won 37-21 despite Hunter’s eight catches, two touchdowns and 125 receiving yards. Bryant did have two pass breakups though, and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders messaged him during the week before the week to play man coverage so he could test him with his arm. The matchup against the Buffaloes was his signature trash-talking performance, Bryant said.
Bryant sees comments online and isn’t afraid to dive deep on the internet.
“That kind of motivates me a lot, seeing bad comments people say,” he said. “It kind of gets me going.
“I try to take the comments onto the field and translate it to the game. Now the person can’t say anything no more in the comments.”
Not letting it affect him once the whistle blows is essential, Bryant said.
“Really just locking in on the small things,” he said.
At the East-West Shrine Bowl, ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller referred to Bryant as a “Trash Talk Team All American.”
“I always try to prove a point to people: I’m really like that,” Bryant said ahead of the showcase.Fellow Jayhawks cornerback Mello Dotson was Bryant’s roommate the night before home and away games. Sometimes, Dotson would sleep in the living room so he could actually rest.
Even off the field, Bryant is always talking.
“All day long,” Dotson said Thursday. “Before games, I didn’t want to listen to that.
“He thrives off of talking trash.”
Bryant launched “The Kickin’ it with Cobee Podcast” in 2024, although only five episodes exist on YouTube and none published in the last four months.
On Thursday, Hunter within earshot, Bryant didn’t take the bait at the combine.
“He’s explosive. He’s a good player,” Bryant said.
Hunter’s college coach, Deion Sanders, was Bryant’s inspiration. His father was a fan of Sanders and talked to him after the teams played. When they met – two like-minded people with the gift of gab – Bryant became shy.
The Evergreen, Alabama native – a town about halfway between Mobile and Montgomery – became the first Kansas player to be named first-team all-Big 12 in three straight seasons.
Bryant had 13 interceptions in four seasons at Kansas, with four apiece in his final two years.
“I know how to react to the ball. My reaction time’s pretty good. That’s how I catch a lot of picks.”
But he is most proud of his tackling ability despite his size. Bryant is 6-foot but weighed 171 pounds at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He expects to check in at 180 pounds at the combine and knows to have success at the next level, he’ll have to put on weight. In the NFL, he wants to tackle big running backs and mentioned the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley by name.
To those who insist he lacks the size to succeed in the NFL, Bryant does something uncharacteristic: he lets the film speak for itself.
“I want to show the world that I’m one of the best in the country,” he said. “That’s my mindset.”The combination of having something to prove and that he “can do something to somebody” is why he loves the game.
“It’s fun hitting anybody on the football field,” Bryant said. “In football, you can do a lot of things that you can’t experience outside of football.”
Over four seasons in college, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold became like a father to him, Bryant said. Bryant wasn’t the type of person who always listened to authority, but Leipold was “on my butt about that a lot.” Bryant can get in his own head occasionally and this week he reached out to Leipold and asked whether he was prepared for the showcase that is the combine.
“I know you’re ready for this moment,” was Leipold’s response, Bryant said.
And yes, even though his first name is spelled differently, his namesake is the late Kobe Bryant.
At Kansas, “HawkMamba” became his nickname after a team broadcaster said it on the air once.
Living up to the hype of the Los Angeles Lakers legend is important to Bryant, who would be the second NFL player with the name along with the Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant, but doesn’t mean everything.
“I don’t want to be like Kobe Bryant. I want to be myself,” Cobee Bryant said. “But really, just living up to the name, because Kobe Bryant was a legend. I want to show the world, and I want to leave football a Hall of Famer. That’s what I’m aiming for right now.”