Experienced Lineman Cole Leading the Way as Senior

CHICAGO -- Relationships matter to University of Michigan offensive lineman Mason Cole, and they are at the root of his leadership abilities.

He naturally finds ways to connect, and the special get-togethers he has with Wolverines quarterback and roommate Wilton Speight and their fathers every year is one example of that.

"Me and my dad and Wilton and his dad have done a father-son golf trip for the past three years," said Cole. "We actually just did one this last weekend at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. It's our way of closing out the summer and spending time with our dads. This year, (former quarterback) Brian Cleary and his dad joined us.

"We went to Arcadia Bluffs in northern Michigan the first year, and last year we played near Wilton's home in Richmond (Virginia) at Kinloch Golf Club. It's just a great time. You can get your mind off football and have a good weekend -- just you and the Pops. It's some real quality time and ends summer the right way."

When the team's Italy tour and Rome spring practices concluded, he spent a week in Dublin, Ireland bonding with teammates Maurice Hurst, Patrick Kugler, Grant Newsome and Henry Poggi.

Cole, a senior from Palm Harbor (Florida) East Lake, is someone his teammates know they can count on, lean on and follow. He could've easily taken the NFL Draft route after last season, but he came back for all the right reasons.

"I talked it over with my parents after the season," said Cole. "I wasn't even 21 at the time. I was 20 years old and had only been here three years. I really wanted a chance to lead this offensive line and be that old, experienced guy on the line. I wanted to step up as a senior and help build this offensive line.

"I really wanted to come back and get my degree. I wanted to play as a senior and have my Senior Day and have a chance to be a captain."

Just how important is it to Cole to be a captain?

"Very important," he said. "You've probably heard about Tom Brady talking (to the team in 2013) about how it's the greatest honor he's ever had (being selected a Wolverine captain as a senior in 1999). It is. You look at the former captains and you have not only unbelievable football players but unbelievable guys. If you can be put in the talk with those guys, it's really special.

"It's voted on by the players, and so having the team put its trust in you to represent them before games (in coin tosses) and after games, that's the biggest thing. To be voted on by your peers, that's got to be the biggest honor."

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh sees leader written all over Cole.

"He's just a really great player," said Harbaugh. "He's been starting since he was a freshman, and I think he's very serious about being good. And I think he's going to be a great leader. He's going to be a great leader on the offensive line, and I have very high hopes for our offensive line being more athletic and being better hopefully."

Cole's return will make that possible, and it was an unselfish move akin to the one made the previous year by tight end Jake Butt to stay for his team and chase championships.

"Twenty years later, everyone is still talking about our national championship team from 1997," Cole noted. "It would be special to be part of something like that."

Cole has started 38 consecutive games ever since becoming the first Wolverine offensive lineman ever to start a season opener, in 2014. He played tackle the first two seasons but switched to center last year because a need arose at the position after Graham Glasgow graduated and was drafted by the Detroit Lions.

It remains to be seen whether Cole will play the all-important left tackle position he manned most of spring practice or return to center. But there appears to be a greater need at tackle with senior Kugler and freshman Cesar Ruiz impressing coaches at center.

"Nothing's really set in stone," Cole said. "I think going into camp I'm probably playing mostly left tackle. But there's so much that can happen and so much that can change."

Ruiz also is a true freshman and could match Cole's mark as the second offensive lineman to start in an opener when the Wolverines play Florida Sept. 2 in Arlington, Texas.

"He knows the game inside and out better than I did as a freshman," Cole said of Ruiz. "That sets him apart."

Cole credited his coaches and veteran teammates with enabling him to play fresh out of high school. He was only 18 but showed the mental and physical toughness necessary to compete and beat players several years older.

Now he's the example to follow for all Wolverine linemen, and at 6-foot-5 and a trimmed-down 300 pounds, Cole is ready to have at his final season.

"I think I've done a good job this offseason of helping reshape my body and ate healthier to lose weight and put it back on the right way," said Cole. "Going into this senior year, having three seasons under my belt ... there's a lot of things that can help you. You can be a monster in the weight room, a freak athlete. But one thing that isn't going to change is you have to be a good football player. I think the only way you can do that is by gaining experience by playing football.

"Having played three years helped tremendously."

Cole and teammate Hurst, a defensive tackle, are among 11 Big Ten players on the watch list for the Outland Trophy awarded to the nation's top interior lineman. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. rated Cole the No. 3 senior offensive tackle, and The Sporting News named him a preseason second team All-American.

"It's great to be on those watch lists and have people talking about you," said Cole, "but there's still 12, 13, 14 or 15 games to be played. So, there's a lot of football ahead, and a lot can change."

Cole continues being coached by Tim Drevno. However, he'll also work with Greg Frey, who was added to coach the tackles and tight ends.

"One thing that's great about Coach Drevno being the O-line coach but Coach Frey coaching the tackles is that it brings two great minds together," said Cole. "They have different thoughts on ways to do things. So, Coach Frey can teach something a little different on technique or how the position should be played. The more you know, the better you can be. The more tools in the tool box, the better.

"I actually knew Coach Frey from recruiting. He gave me one of my first scholarship offers when he was at Indiana. He knows my (high school) coach, Coach (Bob) Hudson, and his parents live in East Lake. He also has a home near where we live."

Sophomore offensive guard Ben Bredeson is the only other returning starter on the line, but there is plenty of talent waiting in the wings.

"Michael Onwenu is 360 (pounds) and freakishly athletic for being that big," said Cole. "Pat Kugler, a fifth-year senior, knows the game inside and out. We've got Ben Bredeson coming back, and Juwann (Bushell-Beatty) is ready, too. All the way across the board -- Jon Runyan, Nolan Ulizio -- guys who are hungry to get on the field and compete their butts off to get a spot. The freshmen are going at it, too."

The new offensive line that Cole wanted to return to "help build" will begin taking shape Monday (July 31) when training camp opens.

The entire team will vote on captains in the days before the season begins. Cole is hoping his name is called, and it's hard to imagine that it won't be.