Army Bowl honors Cole
BRENHAM, Texas - The Brenham Cubs have set a standard of excellence on the football field throughout the program's storied history, and Monday, in the Brenham High School cafeteria, linebacker Timothy Cole was honored as a U.S. Army All-American for his contributions to that storied history.
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Cole, a 6-2, 215-pound defensive standout, became the second Brenham Cub to be named a U.S. Army All-American, joining wide receiver Limas Sweed, who played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
"An honor like this means the hard work has been noticed and being recognized as one of the top players in the nation is a blessing," Cole said.
The standout linebacker has been able to accomplish a number of his goals over the course of his days at Brenham. He knows there are many who have helped him achieve those goals and he was quick to thank as many as he could on Monday.
"My parents they just raised me into a great young man and the coaches for seeing my talents and elevating my talents," he said. "My teammates for backing me up in tough times and the ups and downs and just keeping me going and keeping me motivated."
Cole's contributions to the program will not soon be forgotten. He is known for his strong will to succeed, his heady play on the field, and is his strong character off the field around Brenham. He has set a shining example on the field and in the classroom and his presence will be missed.
"We hate to see him go that's for sure," Brenham head coach Glen West said. "He's gone out on the field 40 times for us in the last three years and come back with 35 victories. He's a big part of that. He started every game since he was a sophomore and has been a team captain for two years. He's a tremendous leader with tremendous character, and I've told the coaches at the University of Texas I have no question that he will be the face of the Texas Longhorns by the time he graduates."
As an Army All-American, Cole joins an illustrious group of football players which includes the likes of Longhorn greats Vince Young and Derrick Johnson, as well current college standouts Andrew Luck and Vontaze Burfict.
"Just to be in the ranks of those, great guys who have been in the NFL and the college ranks," Cole said. "Andrew Luck is one of the Heisman candidates. It's something I look forward to and in college I hope to be like them."
The future is bright for Cole, who admittedly did not sleep much Sunday night as he anticipated his U.S. Army All-American presentation. On Saturday, January 7, 2012 Cole will take the field in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl at 1 p.m. EST in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas in front of a national television audience live on NBC. Then Cole plans to take his talents to the University of Texas following graduation.
"I just have to make sure I get myself ready for it," Cole said. "I think I will. I just have to go out there and work out and make sure when I come in I'm ready to work out immediately and help the team out in any way I can."
Joining him in Austin, will be Brenham teammate and standout defensive tackle Malcom Brown.
"I'm just happy I get to play with one of my teammates again for five more years maybe," he said. "It's something we talked about once we started getting recruited. It's something we wanted to do is play with each other. Malcom and I have become good friends. We've known each other since we were five years old and playing little league football together. Never did we think we would be playing college football and now we are and it's just a great feeling."
As he looks forward to his future as a U.S. Army All-American and as a Texas Longhorn, Cole will always remember his days as a Brenham Cub.
"This whole season was great, just the memories we made together and all the wins," Cole said. "We definitely did things people didn't think we were going to do. Even though we fell short of our goal and lost in the second round we still got a lot out of it. I learned a lot.
"Just being with those guys… those are guys I'm never going to lose touch with. Over the years we've done a bunch of things I never thought I would do. We went to the state championship game my sophomore year. We had a bunch of comeback victories. There are a lot of things I will not take for granted."
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