Bowling Green State University Athletics
Another Day, Another Magner Story
August 18, 2005 | Football
Aug. 18, 2005
By STEVE WYCHE, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons' cornerback DeAngelo Hall looked across the line of scrimmage early in training camp and saw a lanky white guy, long blond hair sticking out of every hole in his helmet and skinny arms, wearing jersey number 15.
"I'm like, 'Look at this surfer dude.' I'm just chillin' when I saw him," Hall recalled. "I'll be damned if he didn't go out and catch the ball on me."
Sunshine, in reference to a character in the film Remember the Titans, is what his teammates and coaches call him.
Cole Magner's his name.
"At least they call me something," Magner said. "That means they know who I am."
He's not a surfer dude, though. He's a 6-foot-2, 196-pound caribou hunter and fly fisherman from Palmer, Alaska, a town 40 miles north of Anchorage.
"I'm a wilderness survivalist," the 22-year old said.
He's also the son of a football coach, who took him to summer camps in California and Colorado because he knew not too many scouts recruited the 49th state, where they played seven-game seasons that started in July because of the arctic weather that arrives in September.
Shortly before the preseason opener, Mora became smitten, having seen this undrafted rookie free agent from Bowling Green -- who initially caught his eye because he looked like Shaggy on Scooby Doo -- repeatedly snag passes. It didn't matter if they were at his shoes, over his head or behind his back. In Saturday's 16-3 victory over visiting Baltimore, several first- and second-string players stood on the sideline and formed their own cheering section.
"We were like, 'Throw the ball to Cole. Everybody else is out there dropping passes. Throw it to Cole,' " Hall said. "Cole got back there, caught a punt, and he was one block away from taking it all the way. If you want anything done, put Cole out there. He'll get it done. I hope he makes the team -- bad."
Quarterback Michael Vick also is a fan.
"The kid hasn't dropped a ball since he's been here," Vick said. "I'm not trying to jinx him, but he hasn't dropped a ball. You see him make the tough grabs and the 'Wow' catches that Jim is looking for. He does it all."
In almost every NFL training camp there is an underdog player that stands out, gains admiration, then sweats out the cuts, hoping to fulfill a lifelong dream.
Sunshine's that guy.
The University of Colorado offered Magner a scholarship after watching him at a camp, but he ended up at Bowling Green because he followed coach Gregg Brandon, who recruited him at Colorado but left for a better opportunity with the Falcons -- the Bowling Green Falcons.
Upon arrival, he heard the same sneers he heard during his first few NFL practices.
"My whole life I've been looked at like, 'What is he doing playing football?' " Magner said.
He quickly provided the answer by doing what he does.
"I just made plays," he said.
As a junior, he caught a school-record 99 passes for 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns in Bowling Green's wide-open offense. His senior year, Magner caught 77 passes for 746 yards and six touchdowns. The numbers seemed impressive enough, but Magner went undrafted.
"They said I didn't have any speed, but you've got to be able to cut and catch the ball," said Magner, who also played two seasons on the Bowling Green basketball team. "Those are things I knew that I could do and do them well. I knew if I could just get into somebody's camp, I could prove myself and make the team."
The Falcons seem to be the right fit for Magner because jobs at wide receiver are hardly secure. He might not crack the top-tier rotation, but he's making it hard for the team to consider letting him go.
On a team with receivers making millions of dollars, Magner would earn the NFL rookie minimum of $230,000 if he makes the team.
"Cole, he just catches your eye because he catches the ball," Mora said. "You stand on the sideline, and you hear Ike Reese and Warrick Dunn, they just love the kid. He's competitive, he catches everything thrown to him, he can jump, and he's athletic.
"He's Sunshine."
