Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Cole Mabry possesses a skill set that makes him a player any high school coach would love to build a defense around.

West High coach Garrett Hartwig sees that list of attributes that makes Mabry a defensive centerpiece every day.

“He’s loyal, he’s dedicated, he’s focused, he’s a good leader and his teammates respect him,” Hartwig said of Mabry. “And on top of that he’s good. He’s really good.”

It is one of Mabry’s greatest strengths, hits versatility, that keeps Hartwig from centering the defense for two-time defending 4A runner-up around its leader.

Instead, the head coach sets up the defense and lets the multi-talented Mabry make an impact where ever he is needed.

“My philosophy is you get your best football players on the field and you sort the positions out as you go and he’s one of our best football players,” Hartwig said. “It’s our job to find out where he fits in and that’s the fun in coaching, that’s the challenge in coaching.

Make no mistake, Mabry is at the center of everything West High does on defense.

A three-year starter with 120 career tackles the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Mabry has been a difference maker since the moment he stepped on the field.

Mabry made a team-high 10 tackles in his varsity debut in 2016 and hasn’t slowed down since ranking second on the team in tackles each of the past two seasons while sliding between safety and linebacker.

This season Mabry is gearing up for his best season yet as the unquestioned leader of the West High defense.

“I think sophomore year was kind of live and learn from mistakes and last year was kind of building on that,” Mabry said. “This year it’s more of leading everyone else and making those around me better so each year it’s kind of been a little different of a year so I’m looking forward to more of a leadership role.”

Mabry has everything a coach looks for in a high school defender.

Strong, fast, an excellent tackler that can cover in space.

His versatility is at the top of his long list of qualities.

Mabry has lined up at safety as well as inside and outside linebacker during his career.

“I really like moving around like I have been able to,” Mabry said. “Inside, outside and safety but mostly it has just been where the team needs me and also who we are playing.”

Over the past two years the West High coach staff would move Mabry around as it constructed its defensive game plan for each opponent.

Against a spread offense or pass-heavy team Mabry would spend more time in the secondary.
If the opponent was more of a power run team Mabry would often crowd the line of scrimmage.

It was the versatility, along with the ability to consistently make plays at every spot that made Mabry a major college prospect.

He drew an offer from Iowa State as a hybrid linebacker before committing to Army last month.

“That was definitely one of the biggest things hearing from them was just versatility and being able to play all around the ball was a big thing they liked in me,” Mabry said. “That was something every college coach said they liked.”

A three-sport athlete that also competes in basketball and track Mabry has taken strides each of the past two seasons.

His 31 solo stops last year were a team high and included two tackles for loss and a sack.

Hartwig credits his work throughout the offseason for the improvement on the football field in the fall.

“Cole is a multi-sport athlete and I think that shows up in every sport he plays,” Hartwig said. “He is a track athlete, he plays basketball and I think the development comes from those areas as much as it does with the commitment to the weight room he puts in year-round with every sport.”

As the lone returning starter in the back seven of the defense, Mabry will be the focal point of the Trojan defense as West High attempts to return to the UNI-Dome for a third consecutive season.

Mabry’s ability to play multiple positions allows Hartwig to build the defense around the strength of other players and let Mabry move into any spot needed.

“As far as where he is going to be exactly we don’t know yet, we are waiting for some other players to step up and to fill some spots,” Hartwig said. “Cole is the piece that we will build around but he is also a piece that compliments other parts of the game.”