Danny Medley-USA Today Sports Images
The Texas Longhorns are reloading. While many fans, most of which are critics in recent years, have called for defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to be fired after a dismal year defensively, recruits who are ready to right the ship are going to make their names known very soon. Among the members of Diaz’s first recruiting class from 2012 is redshirt freshmen Timothy Cole, an outside linebacker who will be fighting got a chance to take the field this fall.
Cole is a graduate of Brenham High School and was rated as the 53rd best recruit in the state of Texas and the 39th OLB in the nation when he signed with the Longhorns. At 6-foot-2 and just over 200 pounds, it’s likely that the freshman will have some more work to do in the weight room. However, four years of eligibility with a leg up from learning the system and expectations in practice last season should pay big dividends on the field.
This season, the Longhorns are entering the final stages of a three-year roller coaster that has rewarded enduring their struggles with 19 of their 22 starters returning and ready to roll through the Big 12 with vengeance. Cole could see some time early in the season assuming Texas takes care of business against lesser opponents like New Mexico State but there is a better chance of the freshman staying sidelined behind those in front of him on the depth chart for most of the season.
Regardless, there is a storm coming from the future of the Longhorns defense. Cole was one of four LB’s signed in 2012 and given time paying their dues and taking their bruises in practice, he and the other three could be household names for Texas fans in the near future.
