By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear Reporter | Photo via Christian Vieyra of The Spear
SJSU football linebacker Jordan Cobbs admits the decision to purchase his 24K Buddha chain was a spontaneous one. “I kind of found my value, my reason for it after I got it,” Cobbs said.
The chain’s “value” revealed itself to Cobbs last year after he sustained a season-ending knee injury. During times of distress, Cobbs said he’d “look down, see this [and] it helps remind me of the path that I’m on.”
The Buddha chain was pivotal in Cobbs returning to the field this season. But now there’s a new obstacle for Cobbs to navigate: Helping SJSU ascend from 1-5 to bowl-eligible.
“When I’m out on the field and I’m messing up,” Cobbs said. “It’s a way where I can look down, remind myself who I am and just to relax and take a breath and reset.”
Up in Kim Tin Jewelry
Although Cobbs isn’t a Buddhist, he’s always identified with the religion. It’s something that was developed through an ethnic studies program he participated in at San Leandro High School.
“It taught me a whole bunch of great knowledge that I carry with myself today,” Cobbs said.
A couple of years after committing to SJSU, Cobbs was back in the East Bay and tagged along with his older brother Charles to Oakland’s Kim Tin Jewelry. While Charles was getting some rings fixed up, Jordan was looking at the rows upon rows of jewelry. When he spotted the Buddha pendant, he knew it was for him.
When Cobbs reflected back, his smile and easy-going nature matched the Buddha chain dangling beneath him.
Down south in Auburn
Leading up to the 2022 season, Cobbs, then a redshirt sophomore, felt like it was truly his time to “take off” and become a fixture of the Spartans’ front seven. His key fourth-quarter interception in SJSU’s season-opening win over Portland State validated his feelings.
“We [SJSU football] was turnt up, they [Cobbs’ family] was turnt up in the stands and stuff. My pops was out, too. That was a good night for me,” he grinned. “I was excited, but I was more eager to get to the next week.”
That “next week” took Cobbs from the South Bay to SEC country where SJSU was set to play Auburn. The night before the game, Cobbs remembers gazing out of his hotel window and getting, “a weird feeling that the plane ride going over there wasn’t going to be the same plane ride coming back.”
He “brushed it off,” walked away from the window and eventually climbed into bed with his chain on. On game day, he went through his normal routine and like always, took the chain off before trotting out. When asked if wearing it could’ve prevented what happened next, Cobbs initially chuckled and replied, “that’s a great question.”
In the first half, while coming down on a blitz, Cobbs felt “something just slip” underneath his foot and collapsed down while grasping his knee. His immediate angst muted the 83,340 raucous fans at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I start thinking very much [into the] future like, ‘Oh s**t next game. Oh, next few months. Like postseason what’s this gonna look like? What game am I gonna be back?’” he panicked, while SJSU football trainers rushed over.
The plane ride back that night only added insult to injury.
Unable to bend his knee, Cobbs’ leg hung out in the aisle way where teammates accidentally tripped over it because there were no lights on in the plane. All Cobbs could do was wince, forgive and wait. First for the plane to land and then for his time to return to the field.
The road to recovery
Over the next couple of months, Cobbs had to watch one of the greatest SJSU front sevens of all time devour opposing offenses while leaning on a crutch. Having to view the demolition from the sidelines only made him more bent on fast-forwarding through the long journey and reaching the destination.
At the same time, Cobbs had to grit through taxing physical therapy sessions and frustrating setbacks.
“I’d have a very good week and then due to the amount of work that I’m doing … I have days where it swells up and it’s not really messing with me that week. So I gotta take two, maybe three days off,” Cobbs vented.
During this time, he wrestled with “not overthinking the future and not dwelling on the past and not thinking of anything that isn’t now.”
The sentiment is nearly identical to something the Buddha said 2,600 years ago: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Which is why Cobbs found solace in the Buddha chain. It helped him focus and accept the monotony and day-by-day nature of recovery. Then trust he’d eventually make his way back.
“Being able to understand my perspective of where I was at, at that point of time in my life, and not be tunnel vision into my outcome,” Cobbs said.
It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t easy. But with Buddha chain one glance away, Cobbs made his way back.
From 1-5 to bowl-eligible?
Unlike before, when Cobbs returned this off-season, he made a “conscious decision” to wear the Buddha chain on the field.
Oftentimes after a missed assignment, Cobbs pops out the chain and rubs the Buddha’s belly. It’s a common practice that’s supposed to bring good luck, wealth and prosperity. “It helps me regroup and reground,” he said.
In Cobbs first game since going down at Auburn, he notched three straight tackles in SJSU’s 2023 home opener against No. 18 Oregon State. “It was a great sense of relief. A lot of tension off my shoulders,” he said.
The joy of Cobbs’ comeback tour was overshadowed by SJSU football losing to OSU 42-17. The Spartans’ defense has since continued to struggle and is a point of concern as SJSU’s fallen to 1-5. Last week, the Spartans blew a 27-14 halftime lead to Boise State and have now been outscored 56-7 in the second half during their three-game losing streak.
Now left needing to win five of its next six games to reach bowl eligibility, the margin of error is rail-thin.
Last year, the Buddha chain helped Cobbs refrain from only thinking about his injury and when he’s set to return. But right now, leading up to SJSU’s clash with New Mexico this Saturday, it’s kept him from ruminating about what could’ve gone right as well as fretting about the ground the Spartans have to make up.
“I guess it’s like another pair of eyes where it helps me realize the perspective I’m in, the scenario I’m in and how to deal with it,” he said. “It’s honestly like a reset button.”