By Greg Bates
SPORTS EDITOR
Name: Maverick Cole
Parents: Brian and Lindsay Cole
Activities: Football
Nickname: Mav
Twitter: @MaverickCole10
Cole is coming off a monster season in the Pulaski backfield. He rushed 165 times for 1,023 yards and a team-leading 14 touchdowns as a junior. Cole also is big into weight lifting where he can max bench press between 335-355 pounds.
Did you ever compete in other sports or did you want to concentrate on football?
“I grew up playing basketball and baseball with football, but baseball just got sort of boring to me and it took up my summer, so I wasn’t digging that no more. Basketball was right after football and I just wanted a break and to lift and stuff.”
What are you looking forward to for senior year for football?
“Just one last go at it for high school. It’s going to be different not being able to go back and play with these guys anymore. Hopefully we make it pretty far — we’re shooting for that championship. Hopefully we’ll get there.”
What was your summer like with football and other activities?
“It was fun. I still had enough open time to do stuff, but the camps, they were fun for the most part, football workouts. I didn’t get to many of those, but they were good when I went.”
Why Minnesota State and why commit before your senior season?
“I really like the campus, I really like what they offered me. It’s a lot less stress now committing before season, because of injury and stuff like that. It made my life a lot easier. It’s a really nice school, really nice place and I can’t wait to get there.”
Where do you like to go on vacation?
“Preferably to warm places. If I’m going on vacation, it’s going to be near a beach or something like that.”
Where is the coolest place you vacationed?
“Probably Puerto Rico with my family. That was a good time, but it was a lot different. I didn’t really know what to expect, but fun.”
What is the most important thing in your life right now?
“The three big ones are family, my friends and football. It’s sort of hard to pick between those, because that’s my whole life right now, just those three things.”
What do you like to do when you aren’t playing football?
“Usually hang out with buddies, go do stuff with them. Go to the movies, go to people’s houses, that kind of thing. Just bum around, I guess, see where things go.”
Who’s your favorite football player?
“There’s a couple guys, but I like Braelon Allen’s story, how he’s from around here and he’s just a beast of a man at that age that he is. He’s pretty impressive to look at.”
You’re a bruising back. Do you take any of your game from any players?
“Dylan Hendricks was a beast, so having him go to Pulaski and do the things he did. He had almost 50 carries a game in some of the ones. It’s fun to like look back and some of the film that we watch sometimes with him running it is real good. It’s good to watch.”
Have you always been that big, bruising type of running back?
“I didn’t get real big until sophomore year. So growing up as a youth kid, I was just probably average. I think freshman year I was about 175 and then sophomore year happened and I was at 220.”
If you could be somebody for a day, who would it be?
“Elon Musk. I want to see what his life’s like. I’d want to see what’s up with everything he’s doing. I don’t know, he seems like an odd guy.”
Do you like other professional sports, NBA or MLB?
“I like the NBA sometimes, but I like playoffs more. I like the March Madness, I get into that. I like college over NBA. I think it’s more intense and better defense type of thing.”
Is there a certain college team that you root for?
“The Badgers I root for, but I like watching certain players more. We went to Florida one year during March Madness time and that’s when Zion (Williamson) played and he was just so fun to watch in the tournament.”
What’s your favorite football memory?
“I like beating Bay Port about two years ago with all the older guys. That was just really fun, because it was a long time before we beat them.”
What’s one thing your teammates and coaches don’t know about you?
“They might know it, but I like to eat a lot. I go out to eat all the time.”
Favorite place to eat?
“I like going to HuHot a lot. It’s like $12 for all you can eat, so it treats me right.”
Do you know what you’d like to major in at college?
“Probably something in the business area, that’s what I’m going for right now.”
What one word describes you?
“Different. Take it whatever way you want, but different.”
What’s your favorite subject in school?
“I don’t mind like social studies and stuff like that. I think I got through pretty easy with that.”
What’s your favorite thing about school?
“Seeing people. If I had to go there by myself, I don’t know how long I’d last.”