When Cam Torbor was growing up, football was not necessarily the plan.
For most of high school, Torbor was a basketball player. It was not until his junior year that he decided to give football a try.
He had no idea he would be playing Power Four football, nor did he know where the game could eventually take him. He was just trying something different.
“I just wanted to try it out, to be honest,” Torbor said.
That decision eventually led him to West Virginia, where the former basketball player is now competing for a role in the Mountaineers’ linebacker rotation. Read more: Cam Torbor’s path to WVU Football started on the basketball court.
But while football was a new sport for Torbor, he did not have to figure everything out on his own.
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His father, who played in the NFL, became an important part of his development once Torbor made the transition.
From basketball to football
Torbor spent most of his high school career playing basketball before taking up football as a junior.
Coaches had encouraged him to give football a chance, and his best friend was already on the team.
Eventually, Torbor decided to go for it.
“I couldn’t even tell you,” Torbor said when asked what ultimately made him decide to play. “It was just a random thought.”
At first, there was not much of a long-term plan.
Torbor said he was mostly out there having fun and seeing where the opportunity could take him.
But as he developed, he began to realize that football could become something more.
“I figured if I put myself into football that I could be good at it at some point the more I worked at it,” Torbor said. “So, that was the plan to do as good as I could possibly do and see how far that got me.”
Torbor started out playing defensive end, or the bandit position, before moving to linebacker during his senior season.
The basketball background did not completely disappear, either.
In fact, Torbor said there was one part of playing basketball that made him realize some of his physical traits might translate to football.
He started getting a lot of charge fouls.
“Figured that’ll probably translate better to a football field,” Torbor said.
A familiar voice
Torbor’s father did not necessarily push him into football.
But once he started playing, his experience became valuable.
The two would watch film together, giving Torbor an opportunity to learn the game from someone who had already played it at the highest level.
“He would definitely help me become a better player faster,” Torbor said.
That relationship has progressed throughout Torbor’s football journey and into his time at West Virginia.
Torbor said his father has always been there, whether he needed someone to coach him or simply someone to listen.
“He’s been there the whole way,” Torbor said. “He’s always there to lend an ear. He’s dad when he needs to be and coach when he needs to be.”
For Torbor, that support has meant more than just football instruction.
His father’s influence has helped shape the mentality that he now brings to the field.
The same mentality at WVU
Torbor’s development at West Virginia has followed the same approach he took when he first started playing football.
Work.
He said his mindset since arriving in Morgantown has been simple; run to the ball, work as hard as possible, and keep improving.
That approach has helped him go from a depth piece during his freshman season to someone now working his way into the rotation.
“I just come in, work as hard as I can,” Torbor said. “Since I’ve been here, that’s kind of been my thing.”
That work is beginning to pay off, but Torbor is not allowing himself to slow down.
He knows there is still more to learn.
And much of that mentality comes from his father.
When asked about the best piece of advice his dad has given him, Torbor answered immediately.
“Run to the ball as fast as you can, and don’t be soft.”
It is a message that fits the way Torbor describes his own game.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has talked about building a program with a hard edge, and Torbor said that mentality feels natural to him.
That is because he heard it long before arriving in Morgantown.
“I feel like my dad kind of instilled those things in me before I came up here,” Torbor said. “Work as hard as you can, and something will come out of it.”
For a player who did not start playing football until his junior year of high school, Torbor has come a long way.
The basketball court was where his high school athletic career began.
Football eventually became the sport that changed his path.
And throughout that transition, his father has remained one of the constants helping him figure out where that path could lead.
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