Mason Cole

Mason Cole (born March 28, 1996) is an American football center for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and played for them for three seasons.

Mason Cole
refer to caption
Cole while with the Michigan Wolverines in 2016
No. 61 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Center
Personal information
Born: (1996-03-28) March 28, 1996
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:298 lb (135 kg)
Career information
High school:East Lake
(Tarpon Springs, Florida)
College:Michigan (2014–2017)
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 97
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2022
Games played:77
Games started:56
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Cole grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and attended East Lake High School.[1][2] He was a four-year starter for the East Lake football team and was a participant in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also a first-team all-state player in Florida during the 2013 season.[1] Cole's high school coach, Bob Hudson, said of him: "He's that guy, as a coach, that you want a whole team of. He does what he's supposed to do. He stays out of trouble. He's not late to meetings. He's not lazy. He's always moving. He's coachable. He can take criticism. He doesn't need praise every play. He's what you dream of as a coach."[3]

College career

Cole had scholarship offers from numerous universities, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State. In February 2013, he announced his verbal commitment to the University of Michigan.[4][5]

Cole enrolled early at Michigan in January 2014 at age 17. He was impressive in spring practice and in fall practice, leading to speculation that he might start as a true freshman.[6][7][8] Running back Justice Hayes said: "Mason is a phenomenal player, he is a freshman but he doesn't play like it at all. He plays like he's been there for a couple years."[9]

On August 30, 2014, at age 18, Cole became the first Michigan offensive lineman to start in the season opener of his true freshman season,[10] and the first to start at left tackle as a true freshman. Since true freshmen became eligible in 1972, only five have started any games on Michigan's offensive line: Bubba Paris (one game in 1978), Tom Dixon (one game in 1980), Dean Dingman (three games in 1987), Justin Boren (one game in 2006) and Kyle Bosch (three games in 2013).[8] In the 2014 season opener, Michigan backs set a Michigan single-game record with 9.7 yards per carry (350 yards on 36 carries), and the offensive line was credited with the outburst.[11]

Following the 2016 season, Cole was named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media.[12] Following the 2017 season, Cole was again named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media.[13]

Professional career

On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Cole accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl.[14] On January 27, 2018, Cole played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl as part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team. Cole attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine drills.

External video
video icon Mason Cole's NFL Combine Workout
video icon Mason Cole's 40-yard dash

On March 23, 2018, Cole participated at Michigan's pro day and performed the vertical jump (27.5"), short shuttle (4.72s), and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Cole was projected to be a fourth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the fifth best center prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and Scouts Inc.[15][16]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 4+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m)		 307 lb
(139 kg)		 32+1⁄8 in
(0.82 m)		 9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		5.23 s1.75 s3.00 s4.72 s7.77 s27.5 in
(0.70 m)		8 ft 8 in
(2.64 m)		23 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[17][18]

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals selected Cole in the third round (97th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[19] Cole was the fourth center drafted in 2018.[20][21]

External video
video icon Cardinals draft Mason Cole 97th overall

On May 31, 2018, the Arizona Cardinals signed Cole to a four-year, $3.32 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $761,516.[22] He was named the Cardinals starting center in 2018, and started all 16 games.

Cole entered the 2019 season as a backup interior lineman. He started two games at left guard in place of injury.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 25, 2021, Cole was traded to Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.[23] He started at center for four weeks mid-season in place of Garrett Bradbury, who was out due to COVID-19. He then took over the starting right guard spot for three games before suffering an elbow injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2021.[24]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cole signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 17, 2022.[25]

References
  1. "Mason Cole". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  2. Bob Putnam (November 21, 2012). "East Lake LT Mason Cole's one part teddy bear, one part beast". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  3. Nick Baumgardner (August 27, 2014). "A player 'you dream of as a coach,' Mason Cole set to make history at Michigan". Mlive.com.
  4. Bob Putnam (February 25, 2013). "East Lake's Mason Cole picks Michigan". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  5. "New Michigan OL recruit Mason Cole is 'one terrific leader'". Detroit Free Press. February 26, 2013.
  6. "Michigan true freshman Mason Cole impressing in fall practice". The Michigan Journal. August 14, 2014.
  7. "Michigan freshman tackle Mason Cole, 18, playing like a veteran". The Detroit News. August 26, 2014.
  8. "Mason Cole continues to impress, could be Michigan's first true frosh starting LT in modern era". Mlive.com. August 15, 2014.
  9. Mark Snyder (August 21, 2014). "Michigan freshman Mason Cole is standing out at left tackle". Detroit Free Press.
  10. Brendan Quinn (August 30, 2014). "Devin Gardner passes Tom Brady on Michigan TD list; Mason Cole becomes first freshman OL starter in opener". Mlive.com.
  11. Mark Snyder (August 31, 2014). "Michigan's offensive line keys offensive outburst vs. Appalachian State". Detroit Free Press.
  12. "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Big Ten Conference. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  13. "Seven Wolverines Pick Up All-Conference Accolades on Offense". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  14. "Michigan OL Mason Cole accepted invite to Senior Bowl". mlive.com. December 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  15. "Mason Cole, DS #4 C, Michigan". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  16. "NFL Mason Cole -ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  17. "Mason Cole Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  18. "Michigan C Mason Cole : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  19. "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  20. Baumgardner, Nick (April 27, 2018). "Michigan's Mason Cole drafted by Arizona Cardinals at end of Round 3". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  21. Odegard, Kyle (April 27, 2018). "Mason Cole Is Cardinals' Third-Round Pick". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  22. "Spotrac.com: Mason Cole contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  23. "Vikings Acquire OL Mason Cole in Trade with Cardinals". www.vikings.com. March 25, 2021.
  24. "Vikings Place Mason Cole on Injured Reserve". Vikings.com. December 24, 2021.
  25. "Cole signed to three-year contract". Steelers.com. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
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