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AJ Cole (American football)

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AJ Cole III
refer to caption
Cole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
No. 6 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1995-11-27) November 27, 1995 (age 28)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Woodward Academy
(College Park, Georgia)
College:NC State (2014–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Punts:340
Punting yards:16,530
Average punt:48.6
Inside 20:153
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Alfred James Cole III[1] (born November 27, 1995) is an American professional football punter for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at N.C. State.

Early life

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Cole grew up in College Park, Georgia and attended Woodward Academy, where he played football, basketball, and soccer.[2] As a senior, Cole was named All-Metro Area by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.[3]

College career

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Cole was a four year starter at punter for the NC State Wolfpack.[4] He finished his collegiate career with 9,288 punting yards (third-highest in school history) and averaged 42.2 yards per punt.[5] He was a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy as a junior and a semifinalist for the award as a senior.[6] In 2017, Cole was awarded Honorable Mention All-American honors by GPR Analytics.[7]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 4+18 in
(1.93 m)
217 lb
(98 kg)
33+38 in
(0.85 m)
8+34 in
(0.22 m)
All values from Pro Day[8][9]

2019 season

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Cole was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders on May 6, 2019, after participating in a rookie mini camp with the team.[10] He beat out incumbent punter Johnny Townsend during training camp to make the Raiders 53 man roster.[11]

Cole in 2019

Cole made his NFL debut on September 9, 2019, against the Denver Broncos, punting three times for 134 yards (44.7 average).[12] Cole finished his rookie season with 67 punts for 3,081 yards (46.0 yards per punt).[13]

2020 season

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In the 2020 season, Cole punted 44 times for an average of 44.1 yards.[14]

2021 season

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On December 9, 2021, Cole signed a four-year, $12.4 million contract extension with the Raiders.[15] On December 20, 2021, Cole was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl.[16] Cole led the league among qualified punters in yards per punt in 2021, averaging 50.03 yards per punt.[17][18] Cole received first-team All-Pro distinction in 2021.[19]

2022 season

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At the start of the season Cole was named, for the first time in his career, one of the team captains.[20] On the 2022 season, Cole had 59 punts for 2,884 net yards for a 48.88 average.[21] On January 30, 2023, Cole was named to his second Pro Bowl, replacing Tommy Townsend.[22]

2023 season

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On November 5, 2023, in the victory 30–6 against the New York Giants Cole punted five times and totaled 318 yards on those punts, setting a then-NFL record for gross punt average in a game, with 63.6 yards.[23] Cole's record held until it was broken by Cincinnati Bengals rookie punter Ryan Rehkow who averaged 64.5 yards on four punts in Week 1 of the 2024 season.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Sheldon Named To Ray Guy List". GoHeels.com. October 31, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "AJ Cole, Woodward Academy, Punter". 247Sports. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Saye, Chris (December 28, 2013). "High school All-Metro teams". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "A.J. Cole III College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Smith, R. Cory (August 14, 2019). "A.J. Cole is the lone punter on Raiders training camp roster". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Cole Named Semifinalist for 2018 Wuerffel Trophy". GoPack.com. November 1, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  7. ^ "GPR Punt Rating". Gpr2021. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "A.J. Cole III, North Carolina State, P, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "A.J. Cole, Combine Results, P – North Carolina State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Bradham, Matthew (May 6, 2019). "NC State's P AJ Cole Signs Free Agent Deal with the Raiders". PackInsider.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Williams, Doug (August 14, 2019). "Rookie A.J. Cole Wins Raiders Punting Job". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  12. ^ Tucker, Tristan (September 10, 2019). "NC State quarterbacks shine in entertaining week one games". Technician. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Aspuria, Ray Leonard (January 5, 2020). "Raiders In Review: AJ Cole taking control". RaiderRamble.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Lamarre, Tom (July 8, 2021). "Raiders Get Their Kicks Out of Carlson and Cole". SI.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "Daniel Carlson and AJ Cole sign multi-year extensions with the Raiders". Raiders.com. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "Maxx Crosby, AJ Cole, Denzel Perryman named 2021 Pro Bowlers". Raiders.com. December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  17. ^ "AJ Cole 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "2021 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. January 9, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  19. ^ "2021 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "Raiders announce team captains for 2022 season". Raiders.com. September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "AJ Cole 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  22. ^ Damien, Levi (January 30, 2023). "Raiders P AJ Cole named to 2023 NFL Pro Bowl". Raiders Wire. USA Today. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  23. ^ Smith, Michael David (November 6, 2023). "Raiders' A.J. Cole sets NFL record by averaging 63.6 yards per punt vs. Giants". Pro Football Talk. NBC. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  24. ^ Morrison, Jay (September 9, 2024). "'It's Time To Go Out and Prove It' – Bengals Rookie Punter Bombs Away To Take Lead in Ongoing Battle". Pro Football Network. Pro Football Network. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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