Mocs OL Cole Strange becomes rare Chattanooga Senior Bowl attendee
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BVM) — Though Chattanooga Mocs football has played more than 110 seasons of football since 1904, the team does not have a long history of top-flight draft prospects making their way to the NFL. Even smaller is the list of Mocs players to be invited to the Senior Bowl, the NFL’s most prestigious game designed for graduate college athletes to play against peers in front of the league’s scouts. Since its inception in 1950, only seven Chattanooga players have participated in the event, most notably Terrell Owens, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member who is as well known for his antics as he is for his game. However, this rare group gained another member on Nov. 16 when senior guard Cole Strange was offered an invitation to the game by Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy during the team’s practice.
The moment it became official. Welcome to the @seniorbowl, @ColeStrange2! 🤝@JimNagy_SB x #GoMocs pic.twitter.com/ARweF2lmnX
— Chattanooga Football (@GoMocsFB) November 16, 2021
The news was both surprising and humbling for the senior guard who has spent six years representing the Mocs along the offensive line.
“It was a surprise,” Strange said during a press conference. “It was just a regular Tuesday practice and I noticed a couple of people, camera people and whatnot, but I didn’t see Jim or nobody I was completely caught off [guard]. … They pulled me up there then Jim came up and I was even more surprised so with this I was definitely caught off guard but it’s awesome.”
With his acceptance, Strange became the first Moc to attend the Senior Bowl since defensive end Keionta Davis did so in 2017. Prior to Davis, it was Owens who last went all the way back in 1996, so one can see how special this is for a Chattanooga player. This rarity didn’t go unnoticed by Strange who understands the opportunity given to him to prove he can keep up with the peers who play for big programs.
“I think it’s as gratifying as it can get,” Strange said. “Honestly, the most important thing to me right now is how we’re doing and how we do Saturday, but this is important and I think you have to take some sort of positive out of the situation at hand and this is a pretty big positive.”
Though he has been consistent throughout his career at UTC, being a two-time All-Southern Conference selection and earning the SoCon Jacobs Blocking Award as the top offensive lineman in the league last season, Strange made his biggest impression on Senior Bowl evaluators this season in a game against Kentucky. Though the team dropped the hard-fought game in Lexington 28-23, it wasn’t from a lack of effort from Strange, who helped lead the offense to 339 yards including 171 yards on the ground.
“I thought I had a good game,” Strange said. “I definitely feel like I wasn’t overmatched. There wasn’t anyone that was too big or too fast, I feel like I held my own pretty well. I played how I normally try to play, which is aggressive and to the whistle.”
🚨SLEEPER ALERT🚨@GoMocsFB LG #69 Cole Strange got our attention with his flexibility, mobility, & strength vs. Kentucky. @ColeStrange2 is type of after-whistle finisher who gets under people’s skin. Love the old-school bare arms/no gloves look. 💤📈 #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/B0gQJlEoCZ
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 30, 2021
Head coach Rusty Wright believes that Strange is deserving of the honor as he doesn’t know any player who puts in more effort and energy towards not only being a good football player but a well-rounded person.
“He deserves it,” Wright said during his press conference. “I promise you if there is anybody at this level of college football that’s earned it, he’s earned it. He’s worked his butt off extremely hard to put himself in a position to give himself an opportunity to go play on Sundays. I can promise you there is nobody, nobody, that practices harder or plays harder than that guy in this league. It’s not even close.”
Nagy seems particularly excited about the decision to add on Strange to his stable of Senior Bowl offensive linemen.
2 days into @seniorbowl acceptances and here’s our jumbo OL formation. Athletic & nasty. This unit would wear people out!
LT Trevor Penning, N. Iowa
LG Nick Zakelj, Fordham
C Dylan Parham, Memphis
RG Cole Strange, TN-Chatt
RT Max Mitchell, Louisiana
OT Braxton Jones, S. Utah— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) November 17, 2021
As exciting as the news is, Strange is still focused on his final season with Chattanooga. With the regular season finale against SoCon rival The Citadel on Saturday, the 6-4 Mocs can still control their destiny heading towards the postseason and that is all the senior lineman is focused on right now.
“It’s a huge stepping stone, but I don’t think you can put the cart before the horse,” Strange said. “We’ve got to win Saturday.”
