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.”

