Congratulations to Brooks County rising senior running back Chris Cole Jr., this year’s recipient of the Farah and Farah Forward Progress Award.
Chris finished his junior season in 2023 with breakout numbers: 18 touchdowns and 1,726 yards rushing on 262 carries. That was a big improvement compared to Cole’s 2022 season, when he ran for 805 yards and 12 TDs on 192 carries.
But this has really been the story of Chris Cole from the very first day he suited up for the red, white, and blue Brooks County Trojans. He has had to fight to show that he deserves the chance to be the guy.
Cole started his career at Brooks County in the shadow of two highly talented Trojan rushers. One was Amari Arnold, who was a senior during Cole’s freshman year, and who was one of the big reasons for Brooks County’s state championship that season. Arnold also became the school’s all-time leading career rusher that season. The player he passed on that list? Chris Cole Sr.
That’s right – Chris Cole’s father, the other big shadow Chris Jr. was playing in, and maybe the biggest of the two. To long-time Brooks County fans, the man with the same name who played the same position for the same program is still considered – despite losing the school rushing record to Arnold – as perhaps the best rusher in Trojans history.
Brooks County head football coach Maurice Freeman, who coached Chris Cole Sr., acknowledged that while he understood the natural comparisons of the son to the father, there were some distinct differences between the two players.
“Chris Cole Jr. is a completely different runner than his father,” Freeman told ITG Next last year. Freeman explained how the elder Cole was a “power runner with a straight-ahead style of running the football,” while Chris Jr. has more of a “slashing style when carrying the football.”
Chris Jr. saw little time on the field as a freshman, when he played behind Arnold. The next season, with Arnold having graduated, Chris was set to take over as the team’s feature back. But an early-season MCL sprain set him back before the Trojans even got into the meat of their schedule.
Still, Chris managed to battle through the injury, running for more than 800 yards and 12 TDs.
The 2023 season brought another tough start as Chris and his teammates all had to work hard to climb out of a big hole they dug for themselves in losing five of their first six games.
But Chris was determined to get the Trojans back on track, and he did his part with a great season. After receiving the Farah and Farah Forward Progress Award, Chris told ITG Next that he was excited to not only wind up with a great season personally, he also was proud that the Trojans were able to overcome their slow start.
“First of all, it was an honor to receive the Farah and Farah Forward Progress Award, because I’ve worked so hard this season to be recognized, and it finally happened,” Cole said. “It was a great feeling to have the breakout season that I did, but it wasn’t easy. Even though we started off 1-5, we overcame those losses and bonded with each other, then went on a long run in the playoffs.”
Like any good running back, Chris was quick to give praise to the guys in the trenches.
“I could not have had the season I did without my offensive line,” he said. “Those guys blocked with everything they had in them this year.”
Following that 1-5 start, Chris Cole Jr. and his teammates rallied to win seven straight games, advancing to the Class A semifinals, where they came up a touchdown shy of making it back to the state title game. It was a great comeback, led by a player who knows a little something about making comebacks.
As Chris Cole Jr. prepares for his senior season at Brooks County, will we see even more from the Trojans’ feature running back?
“Play for the name on the front, and they remember the name on the back,” Chris simply said.
Whatever happens in the upcoming 2024 season, we definitely will remember the name Chris Cole Jr. for what he accomplished in 2023.
