“To sign some players, you have to let some players go,” (Jon) Gruden (head coach) said Tuesday. “Hate to see Johnny [Townsend] go. We still think he’s a really good punter. A.J. Cole deserves to be our guy at this point.”
“Well, he has a tremendous leg,” (Rich) Bisaccia (Special Teams Coordinator) said. “He has a natural hang to him, kind of even on his bad ball he can kind of get away with it. He’s a high-hit guy on his contact on the ball and he’s really improved his holding as he’s come along. And he can kickoff, so it gives us a little bit of an advantage that way with having the ability to have two guys that can kickoff through preseason.” (Raiders)
Cole’s 220 punts rank 3rd in NC State history, his 9,288 punting yards ranks 2nd, and his 42.2 yard average ranks 3rd.