Cole Strange

American football player (born 1998)
American football player
Cole Strange
refer to caption
Strange in 2022
No. 69 – New England Patriots
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1998-07-31) July 31, 1998 (age 25)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Farragut
(Farragut, Tennessee)
College:Chattanooga (2016–2021)
NFL draft:2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29
Career history
  • New England Patriots (2022–present)
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× SoCon Jacobs Blocking Trophy (2020, 2021)
  • First-team All-SoCon (2021)
  • 3× Second-team All-SoCon (2018–2020)
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:27
Games started:27
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Devin Cole Strange (born July 31, 1998) is an American football guard for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Chattanooga and was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Early years

Strange grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended Farragut High School.[1] He primarily played defensive end at Farragut and was named the Knoxville Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year as a senior after recording 103.5 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks.[2] Strange was rated a two-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but later de-committed and signed a letter of intent to play at the Air Force Academy.[3]

College career

Strange briefly attended Air Force during the Basic Cadet Training period before transferring to Chattanooga and redshirting his freshman season.[4] As a redshirt freshman, he played in ten games with six starts at left guard.[5] Strange started all 11 games at left guard during his redshirt sophomore and was named second-team All-Southern Conference (SoCon). He repeated as a second-team All-SoCon selection as a redshirt junior after starting 11 games at left guard and the final game of the Mocs' season at center due to an injury.[6]

Strange started four of five possible games at left guard and won the Jacobs Blocking Award as the best blocker in the SoCon during redshirt senior season, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] He decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to Chattanooga for a sixth season.[8] In 2021, Strange was named first-team All-SoCon and won a second straight Jacobs Blocking Award.[9] After the conclusion of his college career, he played in the 2022 Senior Bowl.[10]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+7⁄8 in
(1.95 m) 		307 lb
(139 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 5.03 s 1.71 s 2.89 s 4.50 s 7.44 s 28.0 in
(0.71 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 31 reps
All values from NFL Combine[11][12]

Strange was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round (29th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft despite many analysts predicting that he would still be available in the third or fourth round.[13] He was named the Patriots starting left guard as a rookie, and started every game.

Personal life

Strange has a Bachelors in Psychology. He is currently working on a Masters in Engineering Management online from UTC.[14]

References

  1. ^ Thomas, Chris (November 10, 2016). "Where are they Now? Cole Strange". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Thomas, Chris (February 2, 2016). "Farragut's Cole Strange going to Air Force after Chattanooga decommitment". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mocs lose commitment Strange to Air Force". Chattanooga Times Free Press. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Physical play helps at Mocs' Strange position". Chattanooga Times Free Press. October 20, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "Strange development: He's no longer a new Mocs offensive". Chattanooga Times Free Press. October 20, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "UTC offensive lineman Cole Strange a preseason All-American". Chattanooga Times Free Press. July 26, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Nyman, Rick (April 22, 2021). "Mocs OL Cole Strange Wins SoCon's Jacobs Blocking Award". WDEF.com. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  8. ^ Thorn, Brandon. "Cole Strange NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for Chattanooga IOL". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "UTC's Strange Gets NFL Combine Invite". Chattanoogan. February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  10. ^ Gayle, Nathan (November 24, 2021). "Cole Strange invited to the Reese's Senior Bowl". NewsChannel9.com. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Cole Strange Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Cole Strange, Chattanooga NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  13. ^ Price, Christopher (April 28, 2022). "2022 NFL Draft: Patriots select Chattanooga offensive lineman Cole Strange with 29th pick". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 28, 2022 – via Boston.com.
  14. ^ Wasserstrom, Chuck (2020-12-16). "Pandemic doesn't keep Cole Strange from playing football". UTC News Releases. Retrieved 2022-05-03.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cole Strange.
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  • Chattanooga Mocs bio
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