The one bad thing about living in southwest Virginia is that this area really doesn’t produce that much top-tier talent. So when somebody in this area commits to a BCS level college, I do my best to spend a few Friday nights throughout the fall watching them perform on the field. Last night I journeyed out to Cave Spring to watch Michael Cole and the Knights battle the Golden Eagles of Staunton River.
The game was largely a mismatch thanks to the speed and skill on Cave Spring’s defense. Staunton River’s quarterback Cody Jones was the only worthy adversary on the night, running for two long touchdown runs. Jones has plenty of speed in the open field and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him earn a walk-on offer from Virginia Tech in the future.
Cole was impressive on the first drive, assisting on two tackles and swatting down a pass that forced the Golden Eagles to punt. On offense, Cole played wide receiver, officially catching two passes for 31 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown reception was a beautifully thrown pass by quarterback Josh Woodrum (Liberty commit) to Cole on a fly route.
Defensively, Cole played outside linebacker, which is the same position he’ll play here at Virginia Tech. It appears that the Roanoke native finished with about eight tackles (on my count), as well as one tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Cole was steady on the night and really showed some athleticism when blitzing off the edge.
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The one concern I do have is that his technique will need some fine-tuning at Tech. One two different occasions, he had the chance to pop a Staunton River player in the backfield only whiff on an arm tackle. Cole needs to learn to lower his shoulder pads and drive the player backwards instead of always trying to grasp a player with his arms and wrestle him down the ground.
The good news is that’s correctable and will be a focal point for the Tech coaching staff when he gets on campus. Overall, I saw a player who has the instincts, athleticism, and skills to develop into a perfect WHIP linebacker at Virginia Tech.
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