Stephens receives first FBS offer on recruiting trail

Division I athletes don’t spring up often in more rural areas of the state.

Putnam County has had its share in several sports over the years and another might be on the way to joining those ranks.

Greencastle sophomore quarterback Cole Stephens received his first offer for football last weekend from Miami (OH) a member of the Mid-American Conference

“This was the first offer I’ve gotten,” Stephens said. “Not a bad one to start with.

“I’m a close friend of Jackson (Buis) and his father (Josh) and my father (Dave) are close friends. Josh coaches with the line coach at Miami and was able to get me looked at by them.

“The coaches there looked at me and felt good enough about what I did to offer me. It was a blessing to happen,” Stephens added.

Like most camps, Stephens said the day at Oxford, Ohio, went like several others with attendees being assessed on physical traits before going through drills specific to their positions.

“At the camp, they started with measurables like height, weight, 40-yard time, agility and so on,” Stephens said. “After that, we went into individual drills, basically a way to get your arm loose.

“After that, it was the main show, which is receiver one-on-ones. It was one of the smaller camps I’ve been to.”

“(Miami) had just had a mega camp the week before with around 500 attendees, so this one had around 150,” Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens added. “At a camp at Ball State, there was around 160, so it was on the smaller side.

“The biggest thing about camps like this is that they usually separate the older kids and younger kids. Cole got to compete with the older kids and show what he could throwing-wise.”

It wasn’t until after the end of the camp that things went a different direction for the Stephens.

“We did our normal break at the end and, as with most other camps, everyone breaks off to talk to individual coaches, so quarterbacks with the quarterback coach, receivers with the receiver coach, etc.,” Stephens said. “We’re all talking and usually it ends with a good job guys and then we leave.

“The recruiting director came over, gets me and says that (Miami head coach Chuck) Martin wanted to talk to me. He took me over to coach Martin, who was talking to another kid, began to talk to me and said they would offer me.

“He said he liked what he saw out of me that day but added this was based on what they saw right now,” Stephens added. “If I don’t keep working and progress, that offer goes away.”

Coach Stephens added he might have had an earlier offer, having been to rival Ohio University in the weeks prior.

“Different schools have different philosophies on when they will start offering to kids,” coach Stephens said. “Ohio loved him, the quarterbacks coach (Scott Isphording) said he was 100 percent a MAC-level quarterback and want him to come to a game this fall but do not offer to kids in the 2027 class yet.

“The shock for this camp was is that, this being the 13th camp he had attended, most had ended with a, ‘Hey, we like you, good job today,’ sort of ending and this Miami camp was, ‘Hey, we like you and by the way...’”

While still early in the recruiting process, Stephens said getting the first offer was an exciting moment.

“I had no idea when the first one would come,” Stephens admitted. “I thought maybe I might get one when I went to a camp at Saginaw Valley State last year but learned that’s not how Division II schools really recruit.

“I thought it might happen last year and was hoping I would get one this summer, so I was really happy to get an offer from Miami.”

More than anything, Stephens said his work was just beginning but was filled with a renewed sense of momentum heading into the rest of the summer and the upcoming season.

“I was confident in my skills before this really reaffirms it to me,” Stephens said. “A Division I school in the MAC, who won their conference title last year, saw in me what I saw in myself.

“The thing that stood out to me at Miami, outside of throwing the ball, because you aren’t getting offered if you can’t throw, is coach Martin said that what stood out to him was my poise, personality and confidence and the ability to lead kids a year or two older than me. That really gave me all the confidence I needed.”