Blacknbengal
Well-Known Member
Cole: let them play
By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser
Because of the risk of injuries, many college football coaches would rather their big-name signees avoid Friday night?s All-Star Sports Week football game like the plague. But Alabama State head coach L.C. Cole isn?t one of them. For the first time ever, ASU has a pair of players, Robert E. Lee?s Jamal Cooper and Brandon Horace, playing in the game and Cole said he wouldn?t have it any other way.
?Those guys accomplished that honor,? said Cole. ?If they were good enough to be invited to that game then they should go and play. It?s their last chance to play with some of the guys they?ve been playing with and against and I think they should take advantage of it.?
Another big reason, according to Cole, that he wants Cooper and Horace in the game is because of the experiences he had in all-star games in his playing days.
?I played in two all-star games in Ohio when I younger,? he said. ?I wouldn?t trade anything for those two experiences. You meet all kinds of people and develop friendships that last a long time. I?ve still got several friends that I talk to all the time from those two games.?
Both Cooper and Horace admit it would have taken a lot to keep them out of Friday?s game.
?I just don?t think I could?ve missed it,? said Cooper. ?In front of all the hometown fans and all, there just wasn?t much of a way I wasn?t going to be here.?
Horace said he was expecting it to be an experience he would never forget.
?This is the first all-star game I?ve ever competed in,? he said. ?So far, it?s been a lot of fun and it?s a real honor.?
According to Cooper, the game will be a good measuring stick for him.
?If you can go out here and compete with these guys, you know you?ve got the talent to make it,? he said. ?It?s a really good test of your abilities.?
While the game may be a big deal to Cooper and Horace, Cole also admits that having two players in the game will be a boost to his program.
?It puts us on the national map,? he said. ?When people see these guys in there, they realize that other players are sticking around and going to ASU.?
But Cole said that doesn?t mean Cooper and Horace should feel any pressure.
?I want those guys to just go out there, relax and have a good time,? he said. ?It?s an honor for them to be in that game and they don?t need some coach breathing down their neck wanting them to perform well. We know what their abilities are and whatever they do in the game won?t have any affect on their standing at ASU.?
Cooper admitted he wouldn?t
have ASU on his mind Friday night.
?We?ve got to win this game,? he said. ?That?s all I?m thinking about. We?re going to break that losing streak the South has. We?ve got too much talent not to. The game shouldn?t be close
By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser
Because of the risk of injuries, many college football coaches would rather their big-name signees avoid Friday night?s All-Star Sports Week football game like the plague. But Alabama State head coach L.C. Cole isn?t one of them. For the first time ever, ASU has a pair of players, Robert E. Lee?s Jamal Cooper and Brandon Horace, playing in the game and Cole said he wouldn?t have it any other way.
?Those guys accomplished that honor,? said Cole. ?If they were good enough to be invited to that game then they should go and play. It?s their last chance to play with some of the guys they?ve been playing with and against and I think they should take advantage of it.?
Another big reason, according to Cole, that he wants Cooper and Horace in the game is because of the experiences he had in all-star games in his playing days.
?I played in two all-star games in Ohio when I younger,? he said. ?I wouldn?t trade anything for those two experiences. You meet all kinds of people and develop friendships that last a long time. I?ve still got several friends that I talk to all the time from those two games.?
Both Cooper and Horace admit it would have taken a lot to keep them out of Friday?s game.
?I just don?t think I could?ve missed it,? said Cooper. ?In front of all the hometown fans and all, there just wasn?t much of a way I wasn?t going to be here.?
Horace said he was expecting it to be an experience he would never forget.
?This is the first all-star game I?ve ever competed in,? he said. ?So far, it?s been a lot of fun and it?s a real honor.?
According to Cooper, the game will be a good measuring stick for him.
?If you can go out here and compete with these guys, you know you?ve got the talent to make it,? he said. ?It?s a really good test of your abilities.?
While the game may be a big deal to Cooper and Horace, Cole also admits that having two players in the game will be a boost to his program.
?It puts us on the national map,? he said. ?When people see these guys in there, they realize that other players are sticking around and going to ASU.?
But Cole said that doesn?t mean Cooper and Horace should feel any pressure.
?I want those guys to just go out there, relax and have a good time,? he said. ?It?s an honor for them to be in that game and they don?t need some coach breathing down their neck wanting them to perform well. We know what their abilities are and whatever they do in the game won?t have any affect on their standing at ASU.?
Cooper admitted he wouldn?t
have ASU on his mind Friday night.
?We?ve got to win this game,? he said. ?That?s all I?m thinking about. We?re going to break that losing streak the South has. We?ve got too much talent not to. The game shouldn?t be close
