North Carolina State University Athletics
CARR: Cole Hopes to Travel with Pack
4/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Audie Cole never wound up in the land of Lilliput, but as a young boy he traveled to more places than Gulliver did in Jonathan Swift’s best-selling novel.
There were family trips to Indian reservations in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. There were tours of the Grand Canyon, historic sites, and museums. All were orchestrated by his grandfather, Charles Wallgren, who was executive vice-president of High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Michigan.
“I’ve been all over the place,” said Cole, who remembers riding hours down dirt roads to reservations and being awe-struck by the Grand Canyon. “It was very educational. It was cool. My grandfather wanted me to experience everything.”
Now a redshirt junior at N.C. State, there are other cool places Cole wants to go, particularly as a football player. Helping the Wolfpack post a winning record and travel to bowl games is a top priority on his to-do-list.
He’d also like to take some trips back to the end zone -- intercept a pass or scoop up a fumble and rumble across the goal line again. During his high school days in Monroe, Mich., Cole starred as a quarterback, scoring 10 touchdowns his senior season and passing for 3,285 career yards.
“I miss playing quarterback,” said Cole, now a hybrid linebacker/safety in State’s defensive scheme. “I wish I could score a touchdown sometime. That was always cool.”
Cole probably could have played quarterback at several schools, perhaps for Central Michigan or Cincinnati, his other top considerations. But from the get-go Tom O’Brien, then at Boston College, recruited him with defense in mind.
“He was straight up with me, told me what he wanted,” said Cole, who liked O’Brien, appreciated the coach’s forthright style and followed him to State. “Wolfpack Country is the place to be”, his mother told him.
“A great fit for him,’’ said Betsy Cole, who along with her husband, big Audie, has traveled to most all their son’s games the past two seasons.
DIFFERENT MINDSET
Although Cole played some linebacker in high school -- plus basketball and baseball --switching strictly to defense in the faster, rougher college game was a major transition.
So he redshirted in 2007, competed primarily on special teams in ’08, then earned a starting job last year. Avoiding the injuries that felled several of his teammates, a healthy Cole led the Wolfpack in tackles with 85.
He could talk about big hits delivered on opposing ball carriers. Like the time he bolted off the edge and crunched a Boston College quarterback. Or the thrill he experienced in another victory over rival UNC. But more than tackles he made, Cole laments about the ones he didn’t make.
“ The thing that always bothered me was the missed tackles, especially at the beginning of the year,” Cole moaned. “You can’t miss tackles and win games. I could have done a lot more.”
With lengthy, ruffled blond hair atop a muscular 6-5, 239-frame, Cole has that rugged look of a hunter, fisherman and linebacker, all of which he is. He also possesses a penchant for popping. With that aggressive mentality and more seasoning, he should do a lot more his final two seasons.
“He was learning last year; he was forced to play,’’ O’Brien said. “He was a high school quarterback we thought we could make either a safety or hybrid... part strong safety, part outside linebacker.”
A defensive player can easily get burned in that open space, where a missed tackle can turn into a touchdown and a TD can turn into another defeat.
But O’Brien sees Cole brimming “with a lot more confidence” and wants him to build on the progress he made last year.
“He has the ability, has a good demeanor, has great intensity and is able forget the last play and go on to the next play. That’s what you have to do,” O’Brien added.
For State to win, it’s imperative Cole and the defense make strides, be more defiant, more resolute, more efficient. Last year the Pack ranked 11th in the ACC in points permitted (31.2 per game) and eighth in yards allowed (361.2 average).
Cole cites solutions to the problems -- stop missing tackles and making mental errors. His hopes are further buoyed by the return of stellar linebacker Nate Irving, who was sidelined last fall because of injuries suffered in a near fatal car accident.
“I like playing with him,’’ Cole said. “He always plays hard. He makes things easier for everyone around him.”
GOOD GENES
Books and ball were important at Cole’s house. His mother is a first-grade school teacher who instinctively emphasized academics. His father played college baseball at Eastern Michigan and spent two years in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system.
Although Daddy Cole didn’t officially coach his son’s teams, young Audie said he “always helped me out.”
In addition to all-around athletic ability, Cole developed extra tenacity and pugnacity by boxing one year rather than playing high school basketball.
In his first match, he challenged an opponent from a higher weight class instead of accepting a forfeit in his lighter division. That decision to fight up a notch resulted in a split decision loss.
Disappoined, but undaunted the resilient Cole beat that same opponent a week later in a rematch.
“I never planned to get serious with it,’’ Cole said, noting that he sometimes trained with other fighters in a frigid garage. “There was no heater. You could see your breath. We’d run into lawn mowers, rakes, trailers.”
Tough guys, they were. Cole was tough enough to win a Golden Gloves title that year, throwing a “straight right” knockout punch in the championship bout.
“I loved boxing,’’ he said, but returned to the basketball court the following year.
Now, it’s about pursuing a degree in management, stopping ball carriers and receivers on the football field, putting a knock-down, knock-out punch in State’s defense.
And he’d like to take more trips with his beloved Grandfather Wallgren -- preferably to big Wolfpack bowl games.
Audie Cole and his Wolfpack teammates will be in action in Carter-Finley Stadium on April 17th for the annual Kay Yow Spring Football Game. Click on www.Gopack.com/springfootball for details.
There were family trips to Indian reservations in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. There were tours of the Grand Canyon, historic sites, and museums. All were orchestrated by his grandfather, Charles Wallgren, who was executive vice-president of High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Michigan.
“I’ve been all over the place,” said Cole, who remembers riding hours down dirt roads to reservations and being awe-struck by the Grand Canyon. “It was very educational. It was cool. My grandfather wanted me to experience everything.”
Now a redshirt junior at N.C. State, there are other cool places Cole wants to go, particularly as a football player. Helping the Wolfpack post a winning record and travel to bowl games is a top priority on his to-do-list.
He’d also like to take some trips back to the end zone -- intercept a pass or scoop up a fumble and rumble across the goal line again. During his high school days in Monroe, Mich., Cole starred as a quarterback, scoring 10 touchdowns his senior season and passing for 3,285 career yards.
“I miss playing quarterback,” said Cole, now a hybrid linebacker/safety in State’s defensive scheme. “I wish I could score a touchdown sometime. That was always cool.”
Cole probably could have played quarterback at several schools, perhaps for Central Michigan or Cincinnati, his other top considerations. But from the get-go Tom O’Brien, then at Boston College, recruited him with defense in mind.
“He was straight up with me, told me what he wanted,” said Cole, who liked O’Brien, appreciated the coach’s forthright style and followed him to State. “Wolfpack Country is the place to be”, his mother told him.
“A great fit for him,’’ said Betsy Cole, who along with her husband, big Audie, has traveled to most all their son’s games the past two seasons.
DIFFERENT MINDSET
Although Cole played some linebacker in high school -- plus basketball and baseball --switching strictly to defense in the faster, rougher college game was a major transition.
So he redshirted in 2007, competed primarily on special teams in ’08, then earned a starting job last year. Avoiding the injuries that felled several of his teammates, a healthy Cole led the Wolfpack in tackles with 85.
He could talk about big hits delivered on opposing ball carriers. Like the time he bolted off the edge and crunched a Boston College quarterback. Or the thrill he experienced in another victory over rival UNC. But more than tackles he made, Cole laments about the ones he didn’t make.
“ The thing that always bothered me was the missed tackles, especially at the beginning of the year,” Cole moaned. “You can’t miss tackles and win games. I could have done a lot more.”
With lengthy, ruffled blond hair atop a muscular 6-5, 239-frame, Cole has that rugged look of a hunter, fisherman and linebacker, all of which he is. He also possesses a penchant for popping. With that aggressive mentality and more seasoning, he should do a lot more his final two seasons.
“He was learning last year; he was forced to play,’’ O’Brien said. “He was a high school quarterback we thought we could make either a safety or hybrid... part strong safety, part outside linebacker.”
A defensive player can easily get burned in that open space, where a missed tackle can turn into a touchdown and a TD can turn into another defeat.
But O’Brien sees Cole brimming “with a lot more confidence” and wants him to build on the progress he made last year.
“He has the ability, has a good demeanor, has great intensity and is able forget the last play and go on to the next play. That’s what you have to do,” O’Brien added.
For State to win, it’s imperative Cole and the defense make strides, be more defiant, more resolute, more efficient. Last year the Pack ranked 11th in the ACC in points permitted (31.2 per game) and eighth in yards allowed (361.2 average).
Cole cites solutions to the problems -- stop missing tackles and making mental errors. His hopes are further buoyed by the return of stellar linebacker Nate Irving, who was sidelined last fall because of injuries suffered in a near fatal car accident.
“I like playing with him,’’ Cole said. “He always plays hard. He makes things easier for everyone around him.”
GOOD GENES
Books and ball were important at Cole’s house. His mother is a first-grade school teacher who instinctively emphasized academics. His father played college baseball at Eastern Michigan and spent two years in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system.
Although Daddy Cole didn’t officially coach his son’s teams, young Audie said he “always helped me out.”
In addition to all-around athletic ability, Cole developed extra tenacity and pugnacity by boxing one year rather than playing high school basketball.
In his first match, he challenged an opponent from a higher weight class instead of accepting a forfeit in his lighter division. That decision to fight up a notch resulted in a split decision loss.
Disappoined, but undaunted the resilient Cole beat that same opponent a week later in a rematch.
“I never planned to get serious with it,’’ Cole said, noting that he sometimes trained with other fighters in a frigid garage. “There was no heater. You could see your breath. We’d run into lawn mowers, rakes, trailers.”
Tough guys, they were. Cole was tough enough to win a Golden Gloves title that year, throwing a “straight right” knockout punch in the championship bout.
“I loved boxing,’’ he said, but returned to the basketball court the following year.
Now, it’s about pursuing a degree in management, stopping ball carriers and receivers on the football field, putting a knock-down, knock-out punch in State’s defense.
And he’d like to take more trips with his beloved Grandfather Wallgren -- preferably to big Wolfpack bowl games.
Audie Cole and his Wolfpack teammates will be in action in Carter-Finley Stadium on April 17th for the annual Kay Yow Spring Football Game. Click on www.Gopack.com/springfootball for details.
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