i'm a proud sister

Making the grade

Reynolds continues to impress on field and in class

By David Youngblood
Sports Writer







Cole Reynolds often finds himself in demanding situations as the holder for Oklahoma State, but the pressures of playing football are overshadowed by the pressure he puts on himself to succeed academically.

Listed as a sophomore for football after being redshirted a year, Reynolds will already have fulfilled his requirements for graduation as an international business and Spanish major in May 2008 in just three years. He’s maintained a 3.96 GPA while taking between 19-22 hours per semester and is in the Honors College.

“I’ve always been a student first before an athlete,” Reynolds said. “It just means a lot to me to be able to manage my time wisely and be competitive in school as well. I take a lot of pride in my school work.”

Reynolds, who also serves as the backup punter, said his several of his teammates give him a hard time about his grades.

“Some guys just refer to me as the GPA booster of the team,” he said. “They joke that the only reason they let me on the team is because I raise the cumulative GPA a little bit.”

Reynolds was one of the 13 Cowboys who earned Academic All-Big 12 honors last year. Coach Mike Gundy said the coaches talk to players every day about performing academically.

“There’s only a very small percentage that will have an opportunity to play and do this for a living,” Gundy said. “The rest of them need to get good grades and give themselves a chance.”

Reynolds said his parents always stressed the importance of academics, telling him he couldn’t play ball forever. With that in mind, he plans to enter law school, though he hasn’t decided yet whether he will do so now and forgo his final two years of football eligibility, or stay at OSU and get a master’s degree.

Reynolds has carved himself a role on the team, though it hasn’t been easy.

An accomplished quarterback and punter at Edmond Memorial High School, Reynolds suffered injuries as a senior that prevented him from playing quarterback in college and is behind All-American Matt Fodge at punter.

He said it was hard at first to adjust to being on the bench.

“There’s times when I wish I could be out there more often, but really, it’s just fun to be a part of the team and get out there in any facet,” Reynolds said.

This will be Reynolds’ second year as the team’s holder, and special teams coordinator Joe DeForest said it has been clear that he’s the right man for the job.

“Everyone has a certain niche that they can do to help the football team,” DeForest said. “As a punter, Cole understands how to take a snap and put it down. He works with those kickers every day, so it’s a great relationship.”

In addition to balancing football and school, Reynolds is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He talks at schools and churches three or four nights a week and said he loves doing outreach and ministry.

Finally, Reynolds devotes as much of his free time as possible to being with his wife, Elizabeth. The couple were married in July, and Reynolds said her support has been important.

“Right after we got back from our honeymoon, I got thrown into camp, 7-10 every day, and was completely locked up,” Reynolds said. “But she’s been a trooper through everything.”


Sophomore Cole Reynolds, left, was a two-year starter at quarterback in high school but serves as OSU’s holder. He has a 3.96 GPA in college.


This story was published in the O'Collegian on August 29th, 2007 under Sports.