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On Saturday morning, New York Giants head coach Joe Judge informed wide receiver Matt Cole that he’d likely be taking some snaps at cornerback against the Cleveland Browns.
Cole thought Judge was joking.
“I actually got the news [on Saturday],” Cole told reporters after the game. “Coach asked me about playing corner, and in my mind I was like, ‘I already play corner on punt return.’ He said, ‘I am talking about defense.’ I said, ‘It is too early to be playing games. You can’t be for real.’ Coach said, ‘I am serious. We might need you.’ I just stayed ready, and I have history of playing defense back in high school.”
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Judge wasn’t kidding and Cole realized that in short order. And then, without taking a single practice snap, the 24-year-old was put into the game at cornerback. In fact, he ended up seeing more time on defense than he did on offense — 20 defensive snaps to five offensive snaps.
Cole also took nine snaps on special teams for good measure.
“Because of the way Matt competed,” Judge said when asked why Cole played cornerback on Sunday. “He has been the guy since he got here. Whether special teams, offense or defense, he just says ‘yes sir’ and goes out there and plays 100 percent. We were sitting there and looking at the amount of guys we were going to play yesterday. We knew the depth of some was going to be an issue. We knew it was going to be a hot day and playing a lot of snaps. We just turned around and said, ‘let’s let Matt go out there. This guy competes on punt returns against a gunner. Let’s see what he’s got.’
“To be honest with you, I’ve had experience with receivers in training camp and guys that have stuck around. One thing that impressed us was that he didn’t blink. He went out there. He got the ball thrown to him a couple times. He made a nice tackle. He stopped them short right there and forced a field goal. Obviously, the calls were a little new to him. He got a crash course last night on our defense and some meanings, but he went out there to compete.”
And compete Cole did. He played far better than many expected him to and he was certainly feeling confident after the game.
“They did target my area. I do not want to toot my own horn, but I do not think a receiver caught the ball on my side of the field – Cole World,” Cole said with a laugh. “I think I did pretty good. I just stepped up and just filled in a spot. My coaches helped on the side that are sure about the defenses that they run. I would just charge.”
What the future holds for Cole is unclear, but a Troy Brown role might be in store. Either way, he earned the respect of his teammates and coaches for a fearless performance.
“Have you ever seen Big Fat Greek Wedding – the dad always used to put Windex on everything? We will say Matt Cole is Windex,” defensive back Julian Love said with a chuckle.
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