Mason Cole (born March 28, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the third round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, and played for them for three seasons.

Early years

Cole grew up in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,484 at the 2010 census. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal po ...

, and attended

East Lake High School East Lake High School is a public high school serving students from grades 9–12 located in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and is part of the Pinellas County Schools. It has a 99% graduation rate which ranks it among the most graduating schools in the ...

. He was a four-year starter for the East Lake football team and was a participant in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also a first-team all-state player in Florida during the 2013 season. Cole's high school coach, Bob Hudson, said of him: "He's that guy, as a coach, that you want a whole team of. He does what he's supposed to do. He stays out of trouble. He's not late to meetings. He's not lazy. He's always moving. He's coachable. He can take criticism. He doesn't need praise every play. He's what you dream of as a coach."

College career

Cole had scholarship offers from numerous universities, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State. In February 2013, he announced his verbal commitment to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Cole enrolled early at Michigan in January 2014 at age 17. He was impressive in spring practice and in fall practice, leading to speculation that he might start as a true freshman. Running back Justice Hayes said: "Mason is a phenomenal player, he is a freshman but he doesn't play like it at all. He plays like he's been there for a couple years." On August 30, 2014, at age 18, Cole became the first Michigan offensive lineman to start in the season opener of his true freshman season, and the first to start at left tackle as a true freshman. Since true freshmen became eligible in 1972, only five have started any games on Michigan's offensive line:

Bubba Paris William "Bubba" Paris (born October 6, 1960) is a former professional American football offensive tackle who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL from 1983 to 1990 and for the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions in 1991. He was a member ...

(one game in 1978),

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(one game in 1980),

Dean Dingman Dean Dingman (born September 27, 1968) is a former American football player. He was an All-American offensive guard who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 87 to 1990. He was drafted by in the eighth round of the ...

(three games in 1987),

Justin Boren Justin Matthew Boren (born April 28, 1988) is a former American football guard. Though a guard in the NFL, Boren played both guard and center during his high school and college football career. In high school, he was widely regarded as one of t ...

(one game in 2006) and

Kyle Bosch Kyle Dale Vanden Bosch (born November 17, 1978) is a former American football defensive end who played over ten years in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and was drafted by the Arizo ...

(three games in 2013). In the 2014 season opener, Michigan backs set a Michigan single-game record with 9.7 yards per carry (350 yards on 36 carries), and the offensive line was credited with the outburst. Following the 2016 season, Cole was named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media. Following the 2017 season, Cole was again named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media.

Professional career

On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Cole accepted his invitation to the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. On January 27, 2018, Cole played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl as part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team. Cole attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

and performed all of the combine drills. On March 23, 2018, Cole participated at Michigan's pro day and performed the vertical jump (27.5"), short shuttle (4.72s), and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Cole was projected to be a fourth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the fifth best center prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and

Scouts Inc. Scouts Inc. is a partner of ESPN Inc. that specializes in scouting and evaluating current and future players and teams in professional, college and high school sports. The content is provided on the ESPN television networks, ESPN Radio and ESPN in ...

Arizona Cardinals

The

selected Cole in the third round (97th overall) of the

. Cole was the fourth center drafted in 2018. On May 31, 2018, the Arizona Cardinals signed Cole to a four-year, $3.32 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $761,516. He was named the Cardinals starting center in 2018, and started all 16 games. Cole entered the 2019 season as a backup interior lineman. He started two games at left guard in place of injury.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 25, 2021, Cole was traded to

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. He started at center for four weeks mid-season in place of

Garrett Bradbury Garrett Bradbury (born June 20, 1995) is an American football center for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State and was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2019 NFL Dra ...

, who was out due to COVID-19. He then took over the starting right guard spot for three games before suffering an elbow injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2021.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cole signed a three-year contract with the

on March 17, 2022.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Mason 1996 births Living people American football offensive tackles Arizona Cardinals players Michigan Wolverines football players Minnesota Vikings players People from Tarpon Springs, Florida Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Pinellas County, Florida