Football: Cole bound for Brown

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High senior, Robert Cole, an

All-Newport-Mesa District and All-Sea View League offensive tackle last

fall, announced Friday he will continue his football and academic career

at Brown University.

Cole, who plans to become a doctor, chose the Rhode Island school over

Georgetown, Columbia, Cornell and Yale.

“It was a combination of a lot of things,” Cole said of his choice. “I

like the team, the coaches, the city and the school. I was happy the

whole time I was there (during a recruiting visit Jan. 29-30).”

Cole, recovering from a broken leg suffered in the CIF Southern Section

Division VI semifinals, said his rehabilitation is going well and he

expects to be ready to play for the defending Ivy co-champions next fall.

Cole, who played at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds last fall, said he has lost

weight since the 13-0-1 season, which ended with a 19-18 title-game triumph over Irvine.

“I could play tackle, possibly even guard,” Cole said.

Known among his teammates at “Big Daddy,” Cole was a powerful force in

the Sailors’ prolific running attack. He led the team in pancake blocks,

recorded by knocking a defender on his back.

-- by Barry Faulkner