New in-state offer: 2023 RB Cole Cabana
Dexter (MI) Dexter running back Cole Cabana took an unofficial visit to Michigan this weekend and came away with an offer. He's a 6'0", 180 lb. kid with offers from Michigan State, Pitt, Purdue, West Virginia, and the Michigan of the East, Yale. He runs a 4.43 forty and a 10.69 in the 100 meters. Last year he ran for 1,688 yards and scored 28 total touchdowns.
He reminds me a little bit of Warren (MI) De La Salle running back Allen Stritzinger from a few years ago, who had a Michigan offer but went to Syracuse and played defensive back.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
Thank you for posting this.
1. It is interesting to see how the high school offenses now look so much like the college and even some of the pro game.
2. He could be a good 3rd down back - quick enough and a good pass catcher but effective in draws, screens and quick hitting plays.
January 16th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
Not sure if it's the competition level or his O-Line are all D1 prospects, but most of what I watched would have been touchdowns if they were playing two-hand touch, lol. Very good running back with a lot of speed and quickness.
January 16th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
He reminds me of a combination of Christian McCaffrey, Sam McGuffie, and Larry Csonka.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
But faster, stronger, and with superior balance!
January 16th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Honestly, he really just seems like a smart player. A kid who really works hard and buries himself in the playbook. Like uh say... Toby Gerhart or Chase Reynolds!
January 16th, 2022 at 11:46 AM ^
More like Barry Sanders and Blake Corum.
January 16th, 2022 at 5:01 PM ^
Let's hope he works commits.
January 16th, 2022 at 8:50 AM ^
Heh, Go Dreadnoughts. Thanks Mangus, I live in Dexter, perhaps I should be paying closer attention to my own backyard.
January 16th, 2022 at 8:56 AM ^
He's probably the fastest kid in the history of that school.
When did Dexter become a center of football talent? I think they had an O-lineman on the map last year and I also recall hearing about a TE still in school.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
What's changed is urban sprawl from Ann Arbor resulting in rapid growth. If you drive north on Mast you'll see brand new subdivisions going in everywhere. It's pretty fascinating to see the Ann Arbor wannabe-elitists mixing with country folk like water and oil. People calling police on farmers who don't have horse blankets on their horses when it's 45 degrees. Deer getting run over by bus drivers in front of students resulting in massive group grief counseling in the auditorium, things like that. The best part is that people who have moved here from Ann Arbor 18 months ago start complaining about condo developments downtown or they're upset that Busch's prices have gone up.
So yeah, the football team has some players
January 16th, 2022 at 10:54 PM ^
The best was the old Dexter Buck Pole (not too far from the drive-in A&W) where hunters showed off their prize kills during hunting season.
Under the last football coach there were many winless years... X-country, field hockey, swimming and soccer were the big sports with several Dreads competing for UM, MSU and other D1 schools.
The new football coach has turned the program around with an influx of talent and depth.
January 17th, 2022 at 12:14 PM ^
While the "urban sprawl" has probably increased, that's not the primary driver of the football program's recent success.
They hired an outstanding coach from Sienna Heights (Phil Jacobs) in ~2018. He turned around the program almost immediately. He brought a great offensive system and culture. They had a great QB who thrived in his system for a couple years. The old QBs brother is an MSU commit at TE.
Dexter never historically had a football culture. A lot of the best athletes didn't play football. That changed.
The mix of country folk and Ann Arbor suburb has existed for 20 years and is what makes it an interesting place. Unless things have changed in the last few years, the dynamic has never been an issue like you described.
January 17th, 2022 at 1:58 PM ^
Was thinking the same thing Kevin14.and thinking it was more like 30 years of this mix. It was a great place to raise kids with low crime, strong community and get a blend of country/small town living and Ann Arbor and UM benefits nearby. Virus policies have fragmented schools/parents along political lines recently but that is not unique to Dexter.
Swimming (4 consecutive state titles) had previously enjoyed the benefit of training with former U of M coaches/ team captains, along with field hockey ( Tamer), and Xcountry ( Greg Meyer) in the past and has produced several current U of M student/athletes. Now it seems to be football's turn. Not bad for a high school that had an enrollment of about 900 kids and a great cider mill on the Huron River.
January 16th, 2022 at 8:56 AM ^
They have a really good TE prospect as well. Already committed to Sparty though.
January 16th, 2022 at 9:14 AM ^
My son and Cole have a couple common friends, sounds like he’s got Sparty out in front too for the moment. At 180, I presume he’s not a RB target though, right?
January 16th, 2022 at 9:49 AM ^
The question is will MSU remain the leader/how long now that UM has offered.
January 16th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
Oh no, Tuck comin'!
January 16th, 2022 at 9:24 AM ^
Just watched his highlights. Looks solid! What level of competition is he playing against?
January 16th, 2022 at 9:50 AM ^
Decent competition. Dexter is in the SEC (Mi) Red division. Includes all 3 AA schools, Bedford, Saline, Monroe, and Ypsi-Lincoln.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
Those are Class A schools, BTW.
January 16th, 2022 at 11:54 AM ^
Yes, and specific to football, all Div 1 or 2. Saline and Huron are both top 25 Div 1 teams. It's not the best competition in state but it's quite good top to bottom.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
Had to look up Dreadnought - early 20th century battleship per Wikipedia
January 16th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
You clearly aren't over 40, or you would know GI JOE "Zartan and the Dreadnoughts".
January 16th, 2022 at 12:26 PM ^
The HMS Dreadnought was considered the first modern battleship when constructed in 1906 which started a navy arms race particularly between Germany and Britain which helped contribute to the outbreak of World War I. The term dreadnought came to describe the entire class of battleships. Not sure why an inland school in Michigan chose that for a nickname.
January 16th, 2022 at 1:21 PM ^
After Dexter won a game on a Friday night (this was years ago), the headline in Saturday's Ann Arbor News recap was "Dreadnaughts dread naught"
January 16th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
After Dexter won a game on a Friday night (this was years ago), the headline in Saturday's Ann Arbor News recap was "Dreadnaughts dread naught"
January 16th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
His name is Cole - Cole Cabana!
The hottest star north of Havana.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
His friends call him Copa.
January 16th, 2022 at 9:06 AM ^
If he goes to Texas A&M, he could sign a NIL deal with Taco Cabana.
https://www.tacocabana.com/about/
January 16th, 2022 at 9:29 AM ^
As a Dreadnaught alum this warms the heart. New coach has turned the program around. When I was there (mid to late 90s) the program was bad. Like... Winning two games in 4 years bad. Awesome to see some local kids turning heads and getting big time offers
January 16th, 2022 at 9:33 AM ^
Allen Stritzinger… I think he got his swagger back… oh oh.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:38 AM ^
That wasn't Stritzinger who said that, by the way.
January 16th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
I know. I recently had to look up what happened to that gentleman.
I went to De La Salle a long time ago. This is what I like to think about when I think about my alma mater.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
I also live in Dexter and have kids in high school. Cabana is an impressive player. We’ve been watching the offers pile up and it is cool to see. He’s got excellent vision and speed. I do question whether he can be big enough and durable enough to be a primary back in the B1G. But he catches the ball well (returns punts) and could be trouble as a third down back. His teammate Brennen Parachek is the tight end who is going to MSU to play football and baseball (he throws 90+ already. And one of the lineman was either offered or committed to Kansas. Kind of crazy for what I would call a rural suburban school.
January 16th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
Yeah, James Livingston signed with Kansas. Michigan was keeping an eye on him, but they never offered him.
January 16th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
Lots of speed, It could only help
January 16th, 2022 at 1:03 PM ^
That Cabana boy can really run!
January 16th, 2022 at 1:40 PM ^
Just like the last one I caught my wife with…
January 16th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^
I thought Harvard was the Michigan of the East?
January 16th, 2022 at 2:45 PM ^
Boom Boom? Any relation to a certain former Western Michigan Bronco?
January 16th, 2022 at 5:00 PM ^
Speed kills