FORTVILLE — Rylan Cole paused for a second, then it dawned on him. He was indeed the first. He was starting a new tradition.
The incoming senior ran through the list in his mind before Mt. Vernon’s Thursday team conditioning session.
His older brother, Dylan, is at Notre Dame currently, but he didn’t continue his football career at the college level.
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His father, Marcus, a corrections officer in Pendleton, played football at Bloomington South in his youth, but his competition days ended after graduation. His mother, Sheri, is a teacher at Fortville Elementary.
Cole’s sister, Jaicee, is a seventh-grade soccer player, so there’s always a chance for her later down the road. But for now, he’s the only one.
“I just now thought of it. That’s really cool,” Cole remarked on his collegiate future. “I’m starting a new trend for the family (by committing), and hopefully, my kids, my brother’s kids, my sister’s kids and cousins, they can end up having more Coles at the collegiate level.”
The first in his family to breakthrough, Cole cemented his NCAA Division-I football future late last week and made the announcement that he committed to Indiana State on Twitter this past Friday.
“Dreams turning into reality …,” Cole posted. “COMMITTED.”
After the conclusion of his junior season, Cole’s recruitment process accelerated. He was approached by several programs through the winter months, including Mid-American Conference schools Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Ball State.
Northern Illinois invited Cole to its Junior Day, which he attended prior to taking another recruiting trip to Terre Haute this past February.
The time Cole spent at Indiana State made a big impression, he admits, but he kept his options open and planned to participate in Ball State’s Junior Day before the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March led to the event’s cancellation.
While in quarantine, Western Michigan reached out to Cole and Ball State continued to stay in contact.
Later in the recruitment process, the College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts and Davidson College in North Carolina joined the mix this past June and were working to get Cole to visit their campuses.
Cole considered waiting longer to make his final decision, but with the 2020 Marauders football season his primary focus, he didn’t feel the need to put if off any longer.
“I finally just decided I really wanted to go to Indiana State. I really liked the coaches a lot, and I really thought it would be a good fit for me,” Cole said.
Being able to see the campus firsthand and speak with the coaching staff in person was a major factor, especially with NCAA recruitment limitations in place since March.
“That was a big selling point. They walked us through the campus. We got to talk to some players and they were super cool. Being surrounded by the coaches, I really liked that because people really make a place,” Cole said. “I really think they have a good group.
“They’re on an upward spiral right now, and also I was able to talk to their defensive coordinator and they run defense with multiple safeties. So, that gives me a better opportunity to play.”
One thing Cole can do is play — literally anywhere.
An Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 4A Junior All-State selection as a defensive back, Cole also earned All-Hoosier Heritage Conference honors as a safety in 2019.
Rarely leaving the field for the Mt. Vernon Marauders, Cole is a true triple-threat. He was the team’s leading rusher last year with 950 yards on 142 carries with 14 touchdowns.
In his career, Cole has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards, 28 touchdowns and 3,175 all-purpose yards.
He caught 26 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown for more than 1,300 yards in 2019, but Cole is equally as active on defense.
He posted 73 total tackles last season with 49 solos and averaged 5.2 tackles per game with 2.5 for a loss. Both were single-season career highs for Cole.
He had eight interceptions for 159 return yards, which set a single-season program record in 2019. His 17 career picks is also a school record.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they used him in the return game as well. He’s got a really good knack for returning punts. He’s a very versatile player at the high school level and he can really play anywhere in the secondary at the college level,” Mt. Vernon head coach Mike Kirschner said. “He’ll have to compete, which I’m sure he will, but most importantly, he’ll get a good education.”
As a punt returner, Cole added 251 yards on 11 returns with his longest run back at 40 yards last season, and in the classroom, he’s sporting a GPA at around 3.8.
“Honestly, I’ll play wherever they need me, but they mainly recruited me for safety,” Cole said. “I do enjoy defense a lot, but I don’t think anything beats scoring a touchdown. I really love scoring and celebrating with my team.”
Team is the key word for Cole, who sees more value in Mt. Vernon’s regional championship run last season compared to his 169 career tackles.
If it was up to Cole, he’d never take a play off, and he wouldn’t be opposed to filling the water cooler, painting the fence or driving the team bus either.
“This is the time of the year when I really start preparing myself. Preparing myself for never leaving the field. I give it my all 24-7 in practice, always moving around. Really, it’s the mental aspect. Yeah, I’ll be tired, but I really just want to give it my all for the team and for the coaches,” Cole said.
“I don’t want to be that one person who has an amazing first quarter, but then falls off in the fourth. I really just want to make plays and be there for my team no matter what position I’m at.”
All Cole ever needs is an opportunity, and his father helped him get there along the way early in his career.
Cole’s father coached Rylan and Dylan through the Mt. Vernon Youth Football League, and Rylan was fortunate to compete with Team Indiana, an elite middle school program while in the seventh and eighth grade.
Team Indiana competes in the Football University Tournament.
“I think that helped me develop my game even more,” Cole remarked on his stint with Team Indiana. “I learned a lot from FBU and Team Indiana. It was a great experience.”
Cole’s ups and downs as a kid shaped his work ethic, sharpened his fortitude and pushed him to reach for his college goals.
“When I was in little league, I was a stud. Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty good, and then around sixth and seventh grade, I got into a weird phase, and I wasn’t as good anymore, but then my eighth-grade year, I started to develop more,” Cole said.
“I had a really good year, and then freshman year, I knew I wanted to play at the next level. I really wanted to develop my game because I actually got the opportunity to play as a freshman and had another pretty good season.”
His sophomore season was his breakout.
After his brother went down with an ankle injury against rival Pendleton Heights on Sept. 21, 2018, Rylan stepped in at running back and never looked back.
With 27 carries against the Arabians, Cole posted his first 100-plus yard game and first of four multi-touchdown games that season.
“We were struggling. It was my first year, and we were 2-3, and we went to play Pendleton, who was really good. About midway through the second quarter, Dylan went down with an ankle. We’d only used Rylan a few times at running back. He pretty much just played in the secondary,” Kirschner recalled.
“Rylan ended up running for (151) yards and a couple of touchdowns that night. We ended up winning 28-14. Rylan became the starter after that and has nearly ran for 1,000 yards.”
For Cole, there’s always more to prove regardless of what he’s already achieved. That includes this season as a team leader and with another shot at a potential 4A state championship this fall after the program’s first final four appearance.
“I just wanted to live up to (Dylan), be a leader in the weight room and then also on the field. When he went down, it really motivated me to step up and really take his leadership and lead the team to some wins,” Cole said.
“This really feels amazing because of all the work I put in. It really just shows that hard work pays off. It really paid off because it’s always been a dream of mine to play at the Division-I level. And, I finally made that dream come true.”
At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Cole is built to do whatever it takes.
“I give the guys a book to read each year, and this year the book is ‘The Energy Bus’ (written by Jon Gordon). It talks about positive energy and negative energy and how to keep positive energy going and eliminate negative energy,” Kirschner said.
“I really think he’s taken that to heart. You can tell by how vocal he is this year; that he’s putting the leadership on his shoulders and running with it.”
