Cole Strange
Offensive Guard / Chattanooga
Alex Khvatov: What are your measurements (height, weight and forty time)?
Cole Strange: Height is 6’5 and weight is 310.
Alex Khvatov: How did you prepare for the 2020 season with no offseason training?
Cole Strange: Honestly, I was lifting and working out every day. I worked on footwork and technique. I have been home in Knoxville with my dad. I was eating better. I was able to gain good weight. I got up to 310. My dad has a friend who has a gym set up. I was able to work out there. My high school coach also opened up a weight room for me.
Alex Khvatov: What positions did you play in high school?
Cole Strange: I started at LB my freshman and sophomore year. Junior year, I played MLB. Senior year, I was a DE and TE.
Alex Khvatov: Coming out of high school, what programs showed interest in you?
Cole Strange: Out of high school, I signed with the Air Force academy. During the summer, I talked to my family. I realized that my dad and grandparents were getting older. I wanted to be closer to my family. I wanted to be able to come back home more often. I also had ETSU, Western Carolina and Chattanooga.
Alex Khvatov: Why did you choose UT-Chattanooga?
Cole Strange: They just won their third conference championship. I loved the area and the coaching staff.
Alex Khvatov: Describe your overall career.
Cole Strange: The first year, I was underweight. I got to camp and didn’t get to practice at OL because I broke my wrist in the weight room. I redshirted the first season. Redshirt freshman year, I weighed 260 pounds at the time. I was playing at RT. In the fifth game of the season, the kid at LG wasn’t cutting it. Coaches felt it was a weak spot on our O-line. They put in another kid, and he didn’t do the job very well either. Our offensive coordinator told me that they would move me to LG. I never played OG before. That week, I switched to OG and started practicing. We didn’t win that next game, but I played pretty well at my new position. We were 3-8 as a team. Sophomore year, I stayed at LG. We went 6-6. We had great kids on the team. However, we had an average season overall. Junior year, we got a new coaching staff. I liked them a lot. It was the same staff that I committed to before. Coach Malone was our OL coach when I was being recruited. Our record was average this past year, but we were an undisciplined group before with the prior coaching staff. The new coaching staff changed the culture within a year. We went 6-6. Inside of our program, you can tell the difference. We are going in the right direction. We had a lot of injuries this last season. Last year, the starting RT blew his knee out in the fourth game, and our center hurt his back. The second to last game of the season against The Citadel, our backup center blew his knee out. They moved me to center the last two games of the season.
Alex Khvatov: The fall football season has been canceled in your conference. What are your plans moving forward?
Cole Strange: I plan to come back. I graduate in December, but I want to play my last year and get drafted. We actually have one game this fall against Western Kentucky at the end of October.
Alex Khvatov: You were named preseason All-American. How honored were you to get recognized?
Cole Strange: I will be honest with you. It is kind of a mixed bag of feelings. This preseason recognition doesn’t mean anything. I haven’t played a single snap this season. I was honestly upset how the season went last year. I was second team all-conference the last wo years. It was an average season at best by my own standards.
Alex Khvatov: What are your strengths?
Cole Strange: I am pretty confident in my run blocking. I am naturally very aggressive. I am mean, and I like to rough people up. I play to the whistle.
Alex Khvatov: Your teammate Chris James told me that there is a video of you jumping out of the pool. Tell me about this story.
Cole Strange: There was a video shot last year where I jump out of the three-foot pool. Yesterday, I tried it again with my teammates. I jumped out of the 3 1/2-foot pool. I am an athletic guy. I am fast. I can keep up with some of the faster guys on the team at 310 pounds. I am not as fast as the WR’s or Bryce Nunnelly.
Alex Khvatov: What areas of your game are you trying to improve upon?
Cole Strange: I definitely want to improve at pass blocking and become more consistent. It took me awhile to get better at it. I have improved over the past year. I need to get stronger and better because guys are stronger at the next level.
Alex Khvatov: How did you do against Tennessee in last year’s game?
Cole Strange: Personally, I felt good. On the first play of the game, I screwed up with the center, and the LB made a play in the gap. The D-linemen at Tennessee were massive. I felt like I held my own pretty well. I had a pretty good game.
Alex Khvatov: What is the highlight of your career up to this point?
Cole Strange: There is one highlight that stands out above the rest. It received so much attention. We played Furman this past year. It was the last play of the game. We were losing. They were ahead by 10 points. The game was over. It was a run play to the right. I basically grabbed the dude and rode him to the sidelines and to the bleachers. The guy wanted to fight me. The scouts at my junior day brought that play up. I obviously drew a penalty. The guy was playing NT on that play, but he was not a big guy. I blocked him pretty far. It was 10 yards off the field to the bench.
Alex Khvatov: What is the biggest lesson that you have taken away from your coaching staff?
Cole Strange: Our discipline on the team was lacking before. The new coaching staff changed that. I have always been disciplined, and my work ethic is good. The new coaching staff brought a new atmosphere to the team. Coach Malone is the best coach I have ever had.
Alex Khvatov: Who is your favorite NFL player?
Cole Strange: I watch a lot of cut ups of NFL teams at our school. Guys like Quenton Nelson and Zack Martin. I like to watch Jason Kelce from the Eagles. He is only 290 pounds, but he is impressive. He might be the best center in the league.
Alex Khvatov: What players on your team should we keep an eye on for this upcoming season?
Cole Strange: Chris James and Bryce Nunnelly. OL Curtis McClendon is a younger guy to keep an eye on. DL Devonnsha Maxwell and RB Ailym Ford. A lot of guys on our team have been working hard.
Alex Khvatov: Who is the best player that you have faced on an opposing team?
Cole Strange: Javon Kinlaw from South Carolina. He was highly rated. He went in the first round. I had a good game against him. My coaches were talking about him the whole week that he was a stud. I made it my mission to compete with him. I was highly motivated. I wanted to dominate him.
Alex Khvatov: What is the most important trait for an OL?
Cole Strange: Discipline. Everyone on offense has to do their job. If you gave up two sacks as an OL, the DL had a good game. You have to be great on every single play.
Alex Khvatov: What makes you unique?
Cole Strange: I take it very personally when it comes to football. As an O-lineman, you don’t have statistics. I got second team all-conference my sophomore year. I felt slighted because I thought that I was the best OL in the conference. I have a lot of heart. Football matters to me.
Alex Khvatov: How important are academics to you?
Cole Strange: It is very important. It is how I was raised. Getting good grades is expected in my house. Football is more important, but I make sure I get good grades in school.
Alex Khvatov: What do you enjoy most about football?
Cole Strange: When I was younger, it is the only place in the world where I can physically dominate someone. You get praised for it. You can rough people up and get congratulated for it. The camaraderie is something special. It is great when the team has chemistry. The most important thing about football is being with the guys. You go through spring practice and fall camp. No one really likes it, but you get close as a team.
Alex Khvatov: What are your hobbies?
Cole Strange: My life revolves around football. I hang out with friends and play some video games. I love fishing.
Alex Khvatov: What do you want to do with your life after your football career is over?
Cole Strange: After football, I am not sure. I have some options. I am majoring in psychology. I am going to do some engineering classes because I will have an extra year. My family doesn’t know this, but I am considering going to the military. They have the same camaraderie and brotherhood like football.
Alex Khvatov: What five words best describe you?
Cole Strange: Genuine, hard worker, honest, determined, and dependable.
