FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Former Kentucky Wesleyan wide receiver
Keelan Cole dazzled in his NFL preseason debut with the Jacksonville Jaguars against the New England Patriots on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.
From
The Florida Times-Union to beat reporter Michael DiRocco of ESPN, Cole has caught the attention of plenty of observers in training camp with big plays, fluid route running and catching ability.
All of that was on display from the 2016 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive/Special Teams Player of the Year against the Super Bowl champs with over 100 yards receiving, including a 97-yard scoring haul in the second quarter that had him trending on Twitter.
Cole shook free from Cyrus Jones, a former cornerback from Alabama, and pulled in a deep throw from Chad Henne in stride to give the Jaguars a 10-3 lead in the first half.
His play immediately went viral on social media outlets and left plenty of fans scratching their heads wondering exactly where Kentucky Wesleyan was on the map.
The Panthers’ football team also gathered to watch the game on a projector and simply erupted to cheer on their former teammate.
Additionally, Cole contributed on special teams with a tackle and added an 11-yard reception to aid Jacksonville’s impressive 31-24 win. According to the
Sporting News, Cole’s 97-yard play was the longest TD reception by an UDFA for about an hour before Miami’s Damore’ea Stringfellow caught a 99-yard scoring strike.
Cole is wearing 84 on his jersey, a number that was donned by another Jacksonville Jaguars’ former non-Division I standout in recent memory, Cecil Shorts. Shorts starred at Division III Mount Union (Ohio) before being picked in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.
But as an undrafted free agent, the mountain that Cole is climbing is that much more steep than the one Shorts had to scale.
Catching the attention of talent evaluators and front office personnel is imperative for either sticking with the team, making the practice squad or latching on for another opportunity with a different franchise.
Cole is lightning packed in a bottle in the return game, an aspect of his skill set the world will wait to see if he is eventually unleashed on special teams.
Cole torched Great Midwest schools and non-conference competition in his senior season on his way to first-team All-American honors with 1,400+ yards and 15 TD’s in just 11 games.
The reviews have been nothing but rave reviews so far. Cole is making the Kentucky Wesleyan faithful proud as he continues to pursue a dream – from a guy who has literally worked his way from the ground up with no offers out of high school.
On the NFL.com Shop, fans can even purchase his black or white Nike game jersey without additional customization.
Cole will be in action next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN at EverBank Field with an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.