On the eve of the NFL draft, an event that could dramatically change the direction of his life in a most impactful manner, Bryant Koback might be battling the anxious moments and unwinding in a place where he feels quite comfortable — in the middle of the Maumee River.
The former University of Toledo running back has been an outdoorsman longer than he has been a football player, and whether it is fishing or hunting, Koback finds that the solace offered by an evening in the stream or an early morning in the tree stand puts him right in his comfort zone.
“Being out there in the woods or along the river, that's a way for me to clear my mind and reflect on things,” the Springfield High graduate said this week. “I think it is very important for people to have some 'own' time, and with mine, I tend to go hunting or fishing any chance I get.”
Koback, who was a Division II first-team All-Ohio player for the Blue Devils in 2015, played four seasons for the Rockets and finished his UT career with 4,026 rushing yards, which ranks fourth all-time in Toledo history.
He could be picked in the latter stages of the NFL draft, which begins on Thursday and takes place in seven rounds over three days. Another possibility is signing as a free agent with one of the 32 NFL teams following the completion of the draft. Koback, who left UT with one year of college eligibility remaining, owns a bachelor’s degree in professional sales and marketing and has worked toward his MBA, but he said football remains his priority at this critical juncture.
“I'm focused entirely on the draft and seeing what opportunities might open up for me,” he said. “If I end up someplace where there are good hunting and fishing options then that would be a perk, but at the end of the day wherever you go as a player, you are there to do a job. That is the number one priority.”
And wherever football takes him next, Koback expects enjoying the outdoors will continue to be a prominent part of his life. Fishing will come right after football.
“I developed this weird obsession with fishing when I was really young, probably two or three years old,” he said. “For some reason, I was fascinated with it, and ever since then I've tried to spend whatever free time I had going fishing.”
Koback grew up in the Lincoln Green neighborhood in Holland and as a young boy, he would fish the small creek at the end of his street.
“In the summers I was down there almost every day, catching bluegill and bass,” he said.
When he reached junior high, Koback would have his mother drop him off at the Maumee River so he could fish the walleye and white bass runs, and then she would return to pick him up at dark.
“If I was by myself, I'd play it safe and maybe fish from shore and not push my luck,” he said. “But I have 10 uncles who all dabble in fishing and hunting, and if any of them were going, I always wanted to tag along.”
As he got older, Koback spent more of his non-football time out on Lake Erie fishing for walleye, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch, or crappie and bluegill in the harbors and marinas. He has a 31-inch walleye to his credit, a 17½-inch crappie, and a perch that stretched more than 14 inches.
During his time at UT, Koback was also an evangelist for the sport of local angling, with him and offensive lineman and Maumee native Mitch Berg converting some of the fellow Rockets into Maumee River fishermen.
“We've got some teammates who are far from home so we'd take them along and go to the river all of the time,” he said. “We'd have competitions on who could catch the biggest fish, or who could get a limit the fastest. I don't remember too many times leaving the river without a limit.”
As a hunter, Koback has pursued wild turkeys, rabbits, pheasants, squirrels, doves, and white-tailed deer. His preference is deer hunting with archery equipment, and Koback has harvested one or two deer most years despite the fact that hunting season takes place at about the same time as football season.
“With limited time during football, it puts more pressure on you as a hunter,” said Koback, who has a nine-point buck he took with his bow now at the taxidermist.
“Whether it is hunting or fishing, some people might say that those are a hobby, but for me, I see it as a lifestyle,” Koback said. “Wherever I end up with football, I imagine those two things will still be a big part of my life. Even if I am too busy during the season, there is always the off-season.”
First Published April 26, 2022, 3:36 p.m.
