Student Spotlight: Cole Brannigan – Lemont LB
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for high school athletes in Illinois with the Fall football season being canceled with the possibility of having one this spring. Football is a big part of the player’s livelihoods that builds team comradery, creates…
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Continue ReadingIt’s been a rollercoaster ride for high school athletes in Illinois with the Fall football season being canceled with the possibility of having one this spring. Football is a big part of the player’s livelihoods that builds team comradery, creates friendships that last a lifetime, and there’s nothing that can compare to playing under the lights. For this student Spotlight, I had the pleasure of talking with Cole Brannigan 2022 from Lemont.
This Lemont team is coming off of losing in the second round of the playoffs, I had the pleasure of talking with one of their defensive leader heading into this season, Cole Brannigan. Last season Brannigan lined up at outside backer and on the line of scrimmage, this season he looks to take a majority of his reps at inside backer. Need him to attack in run support? He does it. Need him to know the defense? He does that too, he’s a student of the game.
Brannigan was being looked at by Lemont’s high school coaches since he was in 8th grade as this relationship has grown every year since then. His coaches are fond of his knowledge of the game, how much time he puts into knowing their defense, and constantly wanting to improve his game. Brannigan does a good job of attacking downhill and when asked what he needs to improve on he had the following to say. “I need to work on taking on blocks better and my coverage skills. To me, a really good linebacker needs to be able to stop the run and have good coverage skills”. Brannigan has been putting in the work to do so, I’ve seen him at a few showcases being able to see his coverage skills first-hand, and have worked with him on things that I’ve noticed will improve his game.
With this season being pushed back it was hard on the athletes not being able to play the sport they love and also being isolated from everyone from Covid. Brannigan opened up about how Covid has impacted him and what he’s been doing since then. “Covid gave me a chance to put in extra work. It gave me that extra time to hit the weight room more and go to showcases”. With that, he has been in communication with his teammates throughout Covid lockdown where they will watch film over a video call together.
In terms of recruiting, it has been slow for Brannigan. He was contacted by two Division 3 coaches this past week which is a good sign. For Brannigan, as with many other Illinois athletes, is that they are missing film from this season. Once he gets that film I’m confident he’ll start getting more looks from the next level.
Brannigan is a very hard worker both in the weight room and in the classroom where he has a 3.5 GPA. He is also a high character individual that praises his Lemont coaches for his work ethic and everything that the coaching staff does to help their players in the recruiting process, film review, improving the player’s game, etc. I expect that Brannigan is going to have a breakout season as Lemont looks to compete for a state title. They’ve made the playoffs the last two seasons, now it’s about taking that next step.