(S25) - PT 3 - Early Decisions

[JKortesi81]

Before Easton Cole would go on to becoming a Ultimus MVP winning QB for the Austin Copperheads, he had quite a path to the pros. Cole was always an athletic human being, and in high school he was a pretty good QB as well. However, there were some accuracy concerns, which caused him to only be a Four Star recruit. While that’s still pretty good, it hurt his chances to get a college scholarship from a major college program. With no large programs near his hometown of Buffalo, NY, Cole always dreamed of playing in a warmer climate, preferably the SEC. However, once National Signing Day drew ever closer, Cole realized that he wasn’t quite being recruited how he envisioned. Sure, there were the lower level schools: the Iowas, the Minnesotas, and the Syracuses of the world, but Cole always wanted something bigger than that. Alabama wouldn’t touch him, LSU never bothered either. Florida showed a little interest but went elsewhere. Cole started to realize that the best SEC offer he was going to get was coming from Kentucky or Vanderbilt. He started to talk himself into things, saying that he can still prove himself against the best defenses in college football. And if he could drag one of these programs to the playoffs, he’d prove how good he was. On National Signing Day, he still couldn’t make a decision. He watched on TV as Kevin Kitae, the nation’s #1 QB recruit surprised a lot of people and chose Alabama. Two minutes later, his phone rang. It was Auburn. They were the favorites to sign Kitae, but clearly lost out. Scrambling for a QB, they called Cole, and Easton accepted almost instantly. That’s where he wanted to be. Cole would go on to become the starter as a freshman, and becoming one of the Top 10 players in Tigers history. And to think, it almost didn’t work out for him. (320)