Quiet No More, Jaguars' Keelan Cole Has Something To Say
Keelan Cole tried to make you think he was quiet.
He tried to stay in the shadows, keep his voice low and demeanor subdued.
He put his head down and did his work and earned an undrafted free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, signing out of Kentucky Wesleyan.
He made the roster as a rookie and worked his way through the team’s Cinderella season, methodically and dutifully taking care of his daily duties—however non-glamorous—then periodically wowing in a magical evening and other Cinderella related metaphors. Like his performance in the Week 15 win over the Houston Texans, when he led the entire NFL for the week with 186 receiving yards and a touchdown.
His second year, Cole did much the same, finishing with 38 receptions for 491 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. And once again, the young receiver had at least one game when he couldn’t help but get a little loud, this time with seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown in the 31–20 victory Week 2 victory over the New England Patriots.
In this third year with the Jaguars however, Cole didn’t try to stay demur so much as he was muffled. Under former offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, Cole had only 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. This was his career-low in reception and receiving yards.
After the club placed a second-round tender on the former UDFA, Cole returned on a one year deal. He tried to make you think he was quiet again. He accumulated a perfectly respectable average of 52.5 yards and a touchdown through the first two games while still technically on paper, playing second fiddle. He seemed content to let his play do the talking and DJ Chark take the questions, taking advantage of closed locker rooms during the pandemic to politely avoid any attention, deserved or not.
Cole has proven a valuable target in the redzone, with four touchdowns. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
His teammates and coaches saw someone much different. And if Cole wanted to stay mum save interspersed moments, that was ok; Head Coach Doug Marrone was willing to speak for him.
“I think I can say a lot. I think being here the whole time with him, there were flashes early on. He’s kind of involved some then he’s not then he makes a great catch. I don’t want to say it’s inconsistency because at times we haven’t been able to get him the ball, I’m talking about over the course of the years, but he continues to give great effort all the time.”
“He might be quiet around y’all, but that’s not the [Keelan] Cole [Sr.] I know,” said quarterback Gardner Minshew back in late October.
"Honestly, I always saw it. Last year during camp, during OTA’s and everything, I thought he was as good as anybody we had. So, ever since I’ve been here, I’ve seen what Cole can be and really any time he’s gotten on the field he’s shown that, and I still think he can continue to grow.”
He’s done just that, to the tune of BEING second on the Jaguars in targets (49), catches (34), receiving yards (427), and yards per reception (12.6). He is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches with four.
And as each game has featured more and more Keelan Cole, the four year receiver realized, he had something to say.
Keelan Cole has found a role and voice with the Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
“You just have to be ready for every opportunity because, like I said, coming from a small school and stuff like that, you don’t really the chances. So, that was really something that I kept to keep me going, to keep pushing me,” explained Cole last week, meeting with local media for only the second time this season, and back-to-back following a short jaunt post last week’s Green Bay Packers game.
It’s pushed him into becoming a safety blanket for both Minshew and rookie quarterback Jake Luton. On Sunday versus the Packers, Cole finished with 47 yards and a receiving touchdown, in addition to a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, adding his shouts to those of his teammates, bouncing off the bare seats in Lambeau Field.
After thundering downfield on the punt return, he hauled in his second score of the day on a zip shot from Luton in double coverage. And now with the lid popped off, Cole is willing to spill all.
“I saw nothing but [Packers players] and I just caught it and ducked. I’m not going to lie. [I] closed my eyes and was hoping I would just walk into the touchdown without getting hit, which happened, thank you. [It was a] great ball by [Jake Luton] zooming it past all the defenders.”
With that raucous din of Lambeau Field missing, Keelan Cole made his own noise. He did his own Lambeau Leap following the score, joined by DJ Chark on the wall in celebration, but clearly the center of attention in an otherwise empty stadium; something he’d long avoided before finally accepting it was deserved.
“The’ Lambeau Leap’ was actually pretty lonely, but it was cool. Me and [DJ] Chark [Jr.] up there, sitting, hanging out with the invisible fans. [It was my] first time playing there, and it was a great experience, glad I got to do the, was it a Lambeau leap? [I’m] glad I got to do [the] Lambeau leap, wish I would have done it twice. I didn’t think about it the first time at all. But definitely a good experience other than the cold. I didn’t like the cold.”
And that’s been the other positive by-product of Keelan Cole adding his voice to the mix of what can happen within this franchise; he’s willingly lobbing the verbal shots towards opponents and rivals, while admitting he’d be ok staying in Jacksonville next year, now that the all too silent 2019 season is in the rearview mirror.
“When it comes to being in Jacksonville, I’m not really a party guy or anything and apparently Jacksonville doesn’t have that, so I feel really good here. I like the warm weather, hate the cold, shoutout to Green Bay. I like the warm weather. I like being here, I like being a Jaguar. I’d rather be a Jaguar than a Falcon or a bird or some s*** like that.”
While in college, Cole and his roommate Cody Mills established a social media hashtag to link their goals and mark their journey to achieve them.
#ProIsTheGoal
Now that Cole has found his voice and proven he’s worth listening to, others have begun to pay more attention; some even repeat back his words, wanting to follow in the footsteps that could have easily faded away but instead have been reinvigorated.
“That [hashtag] actually started my freshman year in college, like 2012-13. It’s funny because actually a couple of days ago I just looked at it to see how good it’s been going since. It’s actually a lot of people on there right now on the hashtag #ProIsTheGoal, but I’m not going to take it from them. They can have it.
"Somebody will probably stamp it one day and be like, ‘Yeah, I started this’, and I’ll just be like, ‘Yeah, okay, you got that.’ But that’s where it started, it was just a motivation for me and my roommate, just something we were trying to give each other to make it out of the mud I guess you could say.”
Cole can keep his voice out of that argument, letting others adopt his motto, because he’s achieved it now. He’s only getting started as well. Doug Marrone wants to hear even more from his young receiver.
“I think this year’s probably the most consistent that he’s played,” commented Marrone, “putting himself in position…I think if we’re able to get him the ball a little bit more during the year and things like that, I think it’d be even better. Then, I can’t say enough about the special teams stuff. Every time he’s called on to go in there and do something, he makes something happen, whether it’s a kickoff return, which he’s done before for us in the past, or it’s a punt return like he did [versus Green Bay].
"He’s always up for anything. He always has a good attitude. He likes to play. He likes to be on the field. He likes to practice. He’s really come a long way and I think he’ll continue to get better; I really do. I think he can do a lot of different things, so I think he has value.”
For years, and even weeks this season, Keelan Cole tried to convince you he was quiet. That illusion is gone. On the field, off the field; to the Jaguars front office, to the 31 other teams that could possibly sign him next year; to rivals, and fans and media and anyone who simply wants to shoot the breeze with the secretly affable and bubbly receiver, he simply has to much to say.
