Now that the recruiting process is behind them, it’s time for Heritage’s Brian Cole II and Swan Valley’s Alex Grace to get down to business.
Two of the most sought-after players in the Great Lakes Bay Region since the likes of LaMarr Woodley, Charles Rogers, DeAnthony Arnett, Stu Schweigert, and Mike McFadden, Cole and Grace announced their college choices earlier this summer.
Cole joins a strong recruiting class at the University of Michigan that includes in-state standouts Mike Weber (Cass Tech) and Alex Malzone (Brother Rice), while Grace will head to Kalamazoo next year to play for Western Michigan University and coach P. J. Fleck.
Making their commitments has lifted huge monkeys off their backs heading into the 2014 season.
“Actually, it’s kind of funny how everything came about with my decision,” Grace said. “Since Alma’s Curtis Doyle committed to Western Michigan last year, he has been talking to coach Fleck and myself via text or Twitter. When I finally visited, I knew Western was where I wanted to go. Coach Fleck and the whole coaching staff was great, and I loved that they had a nursing program. I couldn’t be happier with my decision.”
Cole said that staying close to home and playing in Ann Arbor was the right decision for him to make. “I’ve been blessed,” he said. “I’ve been to Michigan and Michigan State games or practices probably five or six times each … something not everybody gets to do. All the coaches are friendly, all serious. [Michigan coach Brady] Hoke is hilarious.
“I’m looking for a family, basically,” Cole said. “Even if football doesn’t work out, I know they still have my back. Or if I get injured, they’re still going to take care of me like I’m still on the football team.”
Meanwhile, there is still a high school season left to be played, and Grace and Cole can’t wait for it to get started.
Cole, whose position is athlete in recruiting rankings, is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state by ESPN and 24/7. ESPN ranks Cole as the No. 8 recruit in the Midwest and the No. 8 athlete in the country. He was recruited at Michigan by Saginaw High product Roy Manning.
Cole is 6-foot-2-inches and 191 pounds, but he expects to play at 205 pounds when the high school season starts.
At Heritage, he has played tailback, receiver, quarterback, safety, and cornerback. He ran for almost 1,300 yards last season and led the team with four interceptions before breaking a small bone in his leg in the last game of the season.
Cole, along with teammate Jalen Young, make up an outstanding dual threat for the Hawks this season. If both stay healthy, Heritage coach Don Maloney knows how good this offense can be. “We all know that everyone will be gunning for Brian and Jalen, so it’s up to us as a team and coaching staff to come up with creative ways to get them the ball,” Maloney said.
Maloney is excited to have Cole around for one more season. “It’s been a great experience for the players, the coaches, the teachers, the community … to have these coaches coming to your school and walking through your halls has been great,” Maloney said. “People get excited about that. It’s good for the community, good for the school, good for everybody.”
Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University also offered scholarships to Grace, who carries a 3.7 grade point average and will come into this season as the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s (MHSAA) all-time single-season rushing record holder . He set the record of 2,952 yards last year against Lansing Sexton in a regional final. Grace has had the luxury of making long playoff runs each of the last two years in Division 5 and would love to make that one last jump to Ford Field during his senior season.
Grace, 17, is 6 feet tall and plays at 207 pounds but is down to 200 because of his summer workouts.
He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds and the 100 in 10.62 seconds. He believes he can add 20 to 25 pounds without losing any speed. He finished third in the Division 2 state track finals in the 200-meter dash in 22.58 seconds.
“As a team, we know everyone will be stacking the box against us, but I really think our coaching staff has come up with some really creative ways of getting me the ball in space while keeping opposing defenses off balance,” Grace said. “We lost a few key pieces from last year’s team [including fullback Ben Finzel], but I really like the makeup of the team heading into the season.”
Cole received official offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, and Tennessee. He will enroll at M ichigan for the spring semester and graduate from Heritage with a lifetime of memories. “I’m in high school … I need to take care of high school, take care of my grades, take care of my ACT,” he said.
First things first, however, for Grace and Cole. Their senior seasons and hopefully more records to be broken and more games to be won.
“I’m a high school student. I can’t believe I’m a senior,” Cole said. “I was just a freshman. It’s gone so fast.”