Hoover head coach Chip English believes the path that linebacker Cam Torbor has taken is quite rare.
Torbor, 6-foot-4, 242-pounds, played the game of football in middle school but then stepped away until his junior year of high school.
During that first year back on the field, Torbor lined up at defensive end where he was used in a reserve role until English and the defensive coaching staff felt his size and speed could be better utilized elsewhere on the roster.
“He can run like nobody’s business so we just decided to look at him at linebacker and see how he fits in. He put him there in the spring and summer and he was developing nicely,” English said.
The coaching staff knew that Torbor was a physical option, but in fall camp there were a number of players that simply stood out on film.Torbor already had the size and speed, but also displayed the ability to deliver blows that would stop ball carriers in their tracks.
“There are yards after contact and with a guy like Cam very rarely are there yards after contact. Typically the ball carrier was going backwards,” English said.
Torbor quickly displayed the ability to naturally fit the run and had a good knack as a blitzer from his experience playing defensive line, demonstrating the ability to get skinny and take good angles to the quarterback. The final results were a senior season where he earned first-team all-state honors and recorded over 100 tackles and 8 sacks for the Bucs.
That led to plenty of late interest once his senior film started to circulate with USC and Florida coming in late but there was a strong connection with the West Virginia coaching staff because they had recruited him while they were at Jacksonville State. After a visit to campus, Torbor saw everything he needed to see and would commit and sign with the Mountaineers.
“I think they made a great decision picking West Virginia,” English said.
The head coach believes that Torbor will be an inside linebacker at the next level and his best football is certainly ahead of him as he is only starting to tap into his potential. That is where more experience and reps at the college level will help as well as learning the system.
English expects that West Virginia will see major jumps because Torbor is so new to it all.
“You can tell he’s still raw. His ceiling is through the roof. He has an NFL body right now so I’m excited to see what he can do at the next level,” English said.
Off the field, Torbor is a quiet kid that simply focuses on the work and is one of those players that is good to have around given how he approaches the game. But with how far he has come in a short period of time, English is excited to see what the future holds.
“This is pretty rare. He’s blazing a path for sure in terms of what he can do this early in his career,” he said.
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