Cole Strange is a guard prospect out of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Strange has spent the past five seasons at UTC, culminating in winning the Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Award this past season as a redshirt senior. Let’s dive into the details of Strange’s game!
COMBINE MEASURABLES:
GAMES WATCHED: Kentucky (2021), Mercer (2021), East Tennessee State (2021)
PRO COMP: Ryan Bates
STRENGTHS:
Strange has a very strong anchor. He holds up nicely in pass protection while displaying a quick, efficient 90-degree body rotation which opens gaping holes for the running back when run blocking. Strange also plays with fiery meanness and tenacity on the field. He’s always going after people and plays an aggressive style of football, which is a great trait for an offensive lineman to have. Strange shows an adept awareness and a keen eye toward what’s happening in front of him downfield. Strange has adequate athleticism to execute pulling assignments at a quality level, and he doesn’t seem to have a problem picking up stunts.
WEAKNESSES:
Strange’s tendency to lock his eyes downfield consequentially results in a lack of peripheral awareness. He was often late when having to make a lateral block, which caused screens and outside zone run plays to get blown up because he was late to making second-level blocks in shorter downfield ranges. Strange’s stance is very narrow; he had to fill in at left tackle against Mercer, and it didn’t go well because he tended to get stuck in a wide stance which caused blockers to slide past him and expose his lack of lateral quickness. Strange’s excessive aggressiveness could also lead to some unnecessary penalties at the NFL level.
BOTTOM LINE:
In Cole Strange, an NFL team is going to get a physical, aggressive interior offensive lineman with a strong anchor that can consistently make strong blocks directly downfield. Strange is mostly scheme-versatile; he has the strength to execute in power and inside zone schemes as well as duo schemes that use a pulling guard, though his lack of lateral quickness will limit him in outside zones. He’s mostly played at LG in college. Because he tends to play forward, it’s not unreasonable to assume he can pick up RG at the NFL level as well; Strange also participated in center drills at the Senior Bowl. Strange will likely start off on the bench at the beginning of his NFL career, though he can start for a team that’s in desperate need of interior line help, depending on who selects him. He should be drafted anywhere from the middle of the second round to the beginning of the third round.
