Football Or Wrestling? Cole Deery Has Plenty Of Options
Football Or Wrestling? Cole Deery Has Plenty Of Options
#40 on the Junior Big Board, Cole Deery, breaks down the college options he has for football, wrestling, and both sports.
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Over the past three weeks, we've been fortunate enough to catch up with some of the top uncommitted wrestlers in the class of 2021 to share their top schools. Recently, I talked with the 40th-ranked prospect on the Junior Big Board, Cole Deery.
Deery had quite the 2019-20 season winning Ironman, Powerade, and National Prep titles, and finishing third at The Beast Of The East. After beginning the season unranked, Deery finished ranked inside the top 10 of the heavyweight class.
The Malvern Prep standout has options unlike any other wrestler on the Big Board. Not only does Deery have offers on the mat, but on the gridiron as well, and as you'll see below many of those schools would love to have Deery's services for both sports.
Watch Deery win an Ironman title back in December
Cole Deery Offers To Play Both Sports (listed in alphabetical order)
- Air Force
- Army
- Brown
- Bucknell
- Columbia
- Cornell
- Indiana
- Lehigh
- Navy
- Oklahoma
- Penn
- Princeton
A dozen schools so far have told Deery that he can wrestle and play football should he come to their school. Of the 12 schools, only Army, Cornell, and Lehigh had a heavyweight finish the season ranked inside the top 25, and Lehigh's Jordan Wood is a senior next season. Army's Ben Sullivan and Cornell's Brendan Furman finished the year ranked 24th and 23rd, respectively.
While a couple of individuals have successfully pulled it off in recent seasons, wrestling and playing football at the collegiate level is unbelievably difficult. Jan Johnson did it in 2016 when Penn State needed an emergency heavyweight and Josh Hokit, of course, did it at Fresno State the past four seasons. While earning All-American honors twice on the mat, Hokit rushed for over 1,200 yards and scored 20 touchdowns on the gridiron. The 22nd-ranked prospect in the class of 2020, Gaige Garcia, plans to both wrestle and play football at the University of Michigan.
Cole Deery Wrestling-Only Schools (listed in alphabetical order)
- Nebraska
- Ohio State
- Rutgers
The Cornhuskers currently have three heavyweights on their roster but none have yet to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and Christian Lance will be gone after next season. Deery could compete for the starting spot right away in Lincoln.
On the other side of things, Ohio State has three heavyweights on the roster who have qualified for the NCAA Championships: Chase Singletary, Gary Traub, and Utah Valley transfer Tate Orndorff. However, Singletary is expected to head down to 197 with the departure of Kollin Moore, Traub will be a senior next season, and Orndorff has just two years of eligibility remaining. Deery could redshirt and then compete with current redshirt freshman Nicholas Boykin for the starting spot.
Since the loss of four-time NCAA qualifier Billy Smith, Rutgers has struggled at heavyweight and hasn't had a qualifier at the weight since Smith in 2016. Help is on the way, though, as NJCAA national champion Boone McMcDermott announced near the end of April that he will enroll at Rutgers and has three years of eligibility remaining. Interestingly enough, the Scarlet Knights also have a commitment from the #4 recruit in the class of 2021, Kyonte Hamilton, who intends to wrestle and play football on the banks.
To start I would like to thank of all the Rutgers coaching staff, @CoachHoffmannRU @GregSchiano @RUJLeo @CoachGoodale, and more of the coaches for helping me make my decision and offering a full ride to the Rutgers University. That being said I’m glad to be a double commit to SKN
— I am Kyonte Hamilton (@HamiltonKyonte) March 9, 2020
Hamilton is a three-star rated athlete by 247 Sports and also has offers from Boston College and Wake Forest on the gridiron.
Watch Deery win his National Prep Championship back in February.
Cole Deery Football-Only Offers (listed in alphabetical order)
- Akron
- Bowling Green
- Buffalo
- Central Michigan
- Cincinnati
- Coastal Carolina
- Dartmouth
- Fordham
- Furman
- Harvard
- Holy Cross
- Lafayette
- Monmouth
- Montana State
- Richmond
- Tulane
- Villanova
- William & Mary
- Yale
While there are plenty of schools that want Deery to focus on wrestling or star in both sports, there are also currently double-digit FBS and FCS schools that want Deery to focus solely on the gridiron. Deery is currently rated as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and is ranked as the 16th best center prospect in the United States for the class of 2021 and the 26th best overall player in the state of Pennsylvania.
No matter which path Deery selects he has plenty of options and I'm sure will find success.
Keep it locked on FloWrestling throughout the spring and summer as we continue to bring you the best recruiting news in country such as school lists for the nation's top uncommitted wrestlers in the class of 2021 and breaking news when wrestlers make their college decisions.