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Former UTPB safety Coby Calvin leads The Tall City Black Gold defense

  • Jun 27
  • 2 min read

Posted: Jun 25, 2026 / 05:58 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 25, 2026 / 05:58 PM CDT


MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The roster build of the Tall City Black Gold has players from across the state, and even the country, but the leader of the defense comes from the Permian Basin.

Safety Coby Calvin brings five years of college football to the table, where he spent 2019-2022 at Wagner University and spent the 2023 season at UTPB, where they won the Lone Star Conference. Calvin said the practices were the key part of their success.


“High intensity practices… good on good, our best versus your best,” Calvin said. “When it came down to it, ours were better, and we came out on top each and every game, and that’s why we were able to end the season with our record like we had.” After several years of trying to get into professional football, Calvin finally got his shot, as head coach Rodney Blackshear said his leadership was evident from day one.


“The reality is, anytime you go to a new team or new environment, you just have to go through a small adjustment period,” Blackshear said. “But he had a very small one compared to other people, like he came in expecting to be a leader, stepped into that role wholeheartedly, and he’s exceeded expectations so far.”

Calvin isn’t the only defensive back who went to college in the Permian Basin; Dami Ajayi also attended UTPB, and Caleb Washington attended Midland College. Blackshear said the local talent provides a unique perspective on the Permian Basin and is optimistic that players may want to live there after the season.

“Those guys have come in, embrace what we are as a team, but also taught us as a team what this community is about,” Blackshear said. “We have a lot of the guys that have wanted to continue to live here in offseason, which is a great thing, So looking forward to continue building on year one and excited about year two, adding a few more local town guys.”

The safety will be back in action on Sunday night, when Tall City hosts the San Antonio Toros. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Astound Broadband Stadium.

Watch the video above to hear about the impact Calvin has made on the Black Gold.

 
 
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