Noah Cobb is a problem solver

Tomorrow could be a big day for Noah

This piece originally ran in early February 2023. One year on, with Noah Cobb a likely starter tomorrow in Toronto, it feels relevant again.

On Jan. 1, Noah Cobb and Ajani Fortune became Atlanta United’s latest homegrown signings. Generally, new homegrowns don’t have too many eyes on them. It takes time for them to develop and work their way up the depth chart. But after Atlanta United shipped off center backs Alan Franco, George Campbell and Alex De John this offseason, Cobb, just 17 years old, is a couple of spots away from first-team minutes in MLS.

Atlanta United seem more than okay with that. Miles Robinson, Juanjo Purata and Luis Abram should carry the brunt of the load this year. However, Cobb is already receiving the kind of rare praise that should reassure anyone worried about the Five Stripes’ depth in central defense.

“Noah Cobb comes in January as one of the homegrowns we think he has an extremely high ceiling. For me personally, I think this kid has future national team written all over him,” Atlanta United technical director and former USMNT center back Carlos Bocanegra said back in November. “From a center back perspective, he's intelligent, he's aggressive, he's experienced beyond his age and I think you guys were able to see he played more as a right back when we played Pachuca in the AmFam Cup, but he does not look out of place physically either. And I think he was still 16 in that game if I'm correct. So we have high hopes for him. Now we've got to introduce him and Gonzalo has got to introduce him at the right time and not just throw him in the deep end where he fails. But the kid has a very, very high ceiling.”