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NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Cole Toner, OL, Harvard University

Cole Toner of Harvard is a huge mauler with an awesome personality
Cole Toner of Harvard is a huge mauler with an awesome personality

NFL Draft Diamonds and our staff have been bringing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 2 years and this year we mixed up the questions and added some fun questions for our readers.  We have tons of NFL staff that read our interviews, and we actually received several of the questions from NFL scouts we speak too.  This gives them a little bit more information regarding your character.  We hope to bring you more than 300 interviews of NFL Draft Prospects this season.  You will be able to track them all on the front page of our website in the banner.

What is your name? 

Cole David Toner

What is your Height/Weight? 

6’6” 305

What is your position? 

Offensive Tackle

Where do you play college football? 

Harvard University

Football is about giving back, what is the coolest thing you have done off the field? 

I went to Clarence R. Edwards Middle School in Boston every week one semester to help underprivileged kids with their classes, hung out with them at recess, and provided a role model for them.

What was the hardest college class you ever had to take?

Econ 1420 – American Economic Policy. It was taught by and economic all-star cast including Marty Feldstein and Larry Summers. The workload was not bad but it makes one realize the incredible scope of decisions economists and politicians have to make regarding policy, and that there are always an incredible number of variables that are affected by each small decision.

Where are you from? 

Greenwood, Indiana.

Who is your role model, and why? 

Peyton Manning. Growing up a Colts fan in Peyton’s heyday, seeing him conduct himself in such a professional and congenial manner for so many years, watching his funny commercials, and seeing the positive impact he had on the community of Indianapolis, I will always consider him a role model of mine.

Did you play any other sports growing up? 

Basketball and baseball. I played basketball throughout high school. There’s nothing like Indiana high school basketball.

Did you play any other positions in football? 

Nothing other than offensive line, unfortunately. I have great hands, though, I should have been a tight end.

At your position, what separates you from others? 

I think it is my athleticism, foot speed, and tenacity through the whistle.

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?

I usually try to see one thing I struggled with the day before, and focus on making that thing better at practice that day.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced? 

A former teammate and current NFL player, Zack Hodges. He is an athletic freak, especially for the Ivy League. Practicing against him every day helped make me the player I am today.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why? 

I like watching Joe Reitz, an offensive lineman for the Colts. He is a hometown guy and I have met him before. I think we have similar body type, he was a basketball player too, and he was also a smaller school guy. He has stepped in and played a lot of positions well for the Colts.

Cole toner1What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it? 

I have been fortunate and blessed to have had a stable home life and an ultra-supportive family and great friends in my life, so besides various injuries along the way I have not had to deal with too many obstacles outside of football.

Do you have any pre-game rituals? 

A pregame shower is a must.

As a small school football player what obstacles do you feel you have to overcome?

The biggest obstacle I feel I have to overcome is competition. The Ivy League has some fantastic football players, but most scouts seem to not consider it to be as top-notch competition.

What is your biggest strength? 

I think my biggest strength is my work ethic and personality.

What is your biggest weakness? 

My current biggest weakness is my strength.  I need to get stronger to play in the NFL. 

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say? 

I am a very well-rounded individual and have the athletic tools to be an NFL player, and will work as hard as possible to achieve that goal.

Who was your favorite player and/or NFL team growing up? 

I have always been a big Colts fan.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose? 

Jesus, Ben Franklin, and Dave Grohl.

With your first NFL paycheck what would you buy?

A new drum set. Mine current one has taken a beating over the years.

Rapid Answers:

  • Spongebob or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
  • Spongebob
  • Backstreet Boys or One Direction?
  • You know I still have the Millennium and Black & Blue albums
  • Lifetime Channel or HGTV?
  • Which one shows SportsCenter?
  • Waffles or Pancakes?
  • Waffles
  • Snakes or Spiders?
  • Snakes
  • Madden or Mario?
  • Mario

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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