Brian Keith Cole II (born April 3, 1997) is an American professional football linebacker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Mississippi State.
Cole grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and played three games at Michigan as a wide receiver and on special teams. He was released from the team in January 2016.[1] Cole transferred to East Mississippi Community College and switched to defense, compiling 54 tackles, with 3 forced fumbles, 3 blocked kicks, a sack, and a fumble returned for a touchdown. He came to Mississippi State and sat out a season as an academic redshirt. During his junior season, he played five games before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season after five games As a senior in 2019, Cole tallied 67 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and one interception.[2]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+3⁄4 in (1.87 m) |
213 lb (97 kg) |
31+3⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.52 s | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[3] | ||||||||||||
Cole was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round with the 249th pick of the 2020 NFL draft.[4] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Vikings on July 27, 2020,[5] and activated from the list on eight days later.[6] He was waived on August 26, 2020.[7]
On September 7, 2020, Cole was signed to the practice squad of the Miami Dolphins.[8] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Dolphins on January 5, 2021.[9] He was waived on July 16, 2021.[10]
On August 5, 2021, Cole was signed by the Carolina Panthers.[11] He was waived on August 27, 2021.
Cole was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on February 2, 2022, but was released with the final training camp cuts on June 5, 2022.[12]
Cole was added to the practice roster of the Edmonton Elks on June 28, 2022.[13] However, he was released from the practice roster on July 10, 2022.[12]
On July 13, 2022, Cole signed a practice roster agreement with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[12] He played in 37 games over three seasons with the Blue Bombers where he recorded 27 defensive tackles, 24 special teams tackles, one interception, and four forced fumbles.[14] He became a free agent on February 11, 2025.[15][16]
On February 11, 2025, it was announced that Cole had signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[14]
