Antonio Cole will visit Kansas, Cyclones could be next
The Kansas coaching staff is looking to land a former target they recruited a year ago. We have reported the staff would like to close out the class with two defensive backs and one of those players is Antonio Cole.
Cole played one year at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before college coaches took notice. He was a qualifier out of high school so he was eligible to leave. He committed to Utah State as a freshman before the Jayhawks started showing interest.
“They knew about me last year but I had already committed and signed somewhere,” Cole said. “I was a corner at NEO as a freshman and I had a good year so schools came in to recruit me.”
After spending a short time at Utah State, Cole went back to the junior college level at Highland Community College in Kansas. This time around the Jayhawks picked up on him sooner. Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen started recruiting Cole during the season.
“He said he likes how I dominated in both conferences,” Cole said of Bowen. “As a freshman he saw me play corner and this year I played safety. He thinks my versatility is what I can bring to the table. He said I’m long and can run with good hips. He said he can put me at nickel to cover a slot, or I can go man across the board. And if they need me at safety I can go there.”
Cole, a three-star prospect, will take an official visit to Lawrence this weekend.
“I think the football program is on the rise (at KU),” he said. “I just saw they hired the offensive coordinator from TCU. That looks exciting. I hear a lot of good things about the Kansas program. I’m excited to come see it. I want to see the coaches in their environment.”
Last week Kansas head coach David Beaty, assistant Kenny Perry, and Clint Bowen did an in-home visit with Cole, who called it a “really good visit.”
It has been a three-team race with Kansas, Iowa State, and Minnesota. After his trip to Lawrence the Cyclones could get a visit the last weekend before signing day.
“I have a visit set to Iowa State,” Cole said. “I was looking at one to Minnesota but with a coaching change I don’t know if I will. My relationships were with the old coaches. I’m hoping I will like KU and then go from there.”