IN COACH’S OFFICE
Ted Janes, Daily Sports Writer
In December, Mason
Cole had a chance
to leave for the NFL
Draft. Now, he’s
Michigan’s captain.
Mason Cole, all 6-foot-5 of him, sat
down in his coach’s office.
Beside him was his dad, John,
who had flown up to Ann Arbor
from Tampa, and sitting across
the room at his desk was offensive
coordinator
Tim
Drevno.
But
the maestro in the room, Jim
Harbaugh, was standing, pacing
around. Harbaugh, still wearing his
football cleats and dressed in the
vintage Harbaugh look, eventually
sat down, but only for 10 seconds
before getting up again to pace back
and forth.
The
four
gathered
to
discuss
Mason’s future. It was Dec. 23rd,
2016, just a couple days before
Christmas,
and
Schembechler
Hall was bustling.
Staff ran around
in
preparation
for the upcoming
bowl
game
in
Miami.
Recruits
were visiting the
building
for
the
first time. Mason
and John felt lucky
to
get
Harbaugh
alone, even if it was
for only an hour.
The meeting was important though
— Mason’s father wouldn’t have
made the trip if it weren’t. Should
he go pro? Mason, always even-
tempered, wasn’t sure how serious
he was about leaving college early
to go to the NFL Draft. There was
a lot going well for him in Ann
Arbor. But it was the NFL; he had
to consider it.
On their own time,
Mason
and
his
parents had laid out
their
own
versions
of the pros and cons.
At first, John figured
they should just have
the conversation over
a
conference
call,
but he later changed
his mind. He doesn’t
get
to
meet
with
Harbaugh
face-to-
face very often, and after all — John
thought — who better for advice
about going pro than someone who
had coached in a Super Bowl?
So John flew up to see Mason and
meet with the coaches. The trip
would be short, but it was well
worth it.
“If you guys want to go (into the
NFL Draft), we’ll support you a
hundred percent,” John remembers
Harbaugh saying in the meeting.
“We’ll do all we can through
the contacts we have to help the
process.”
***
And so the four talked. They talked
about Mason’s age, his size and
what position he would play going
forward.
Mason’s junior season had just
finished, and like every season
dating back all the way to his
freshman year of high school, he
had started every game. In 2016, he
played center. He had played left
tackle for the two years before, but
his coaches envisioned he would
play inside whenever he moved to
the NFL.
If Michigan needed him to, Mason
would’ve moved to play anywhere
on the offensive line.
“I think if you asked Mason, he’d
play wide receiver if he thought it
would help us win,” said Michigan
tackles coach Greg Frey.
Mason’s talent was undeniable.
For three straight years, he had
been the Wolverines’ most reliable
player. The former coaching staff
under Brady Hoke saw it from the
beginning.
In mid-August of 2014, there had
been hints and signs that Mason,
a true freshman at the time, might
get serious playing time. He’d been
practicing well and rotating with
the expected starters, and toward
the end of fall camp, he finally got
the nod. Soon after, he called his
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior center Mason Cole had the opportunity to leave Ann Arbor for the NFL Draft toward the end of 2016, but chose to stay at Michigan. Now, he’ll be the offensive captain for the Wolverines’ home opener.
FootballSaturday, September 9, 2017
4
“He was special
in high school.
... He had it, and
he has it.”