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AJ Cole (American football)

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This article is about the American football player. For the American baseball player, see A. J. Cole.

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+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 		217 lb
(98 kg) 		33+3⁄8 in
(0.85 m) 		8+3⁄4 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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