Cole Draft Profile
 
SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State standout Dylan Cole has signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Houston Texans, the All-America linebacker confirmed Saturday evening.
 
Cole, who was a consensus first-team FCS All-America selection as a senior, averaged 12.9 tackles per game in 2016 to lead all FCS players. The Rogersville, Mo., product recorded at least 13 tackles in nine different games as a senior, including 19 in the Bears' win over Southern Illinois. The All-MVFC first-team selection racked up 85 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
 
He finished third in the 2016 Buck Buchanan Award voting as the top defensive player in the FCS ranks, played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as well as MVFC Scholar-Athlete Team laurels.
 
"It's kinda bitter sweet," Cole said. "Obviously I wanted to get drafted ahead of my prediction. I thought I was going to get picked up around the sixth round. When the seventh round came around, I just wanted to become a free agent so I could pick where I wanted to go and the best fit for me. Houston was that place.
 
I've been talking to them for a long, long time. They didn't get a chance to draft me so they could fill their needs on the offensive side. At the end of the day, I'm happy to be a Texan and hope to be for a long time."
 
Cole completed his bachelor's degree in sales management in December. He capped his career with 457 tackles in 46 games -- all starts -- finishing third on the Bears' career tackles chart and ninth all-time in Missouri Valley Football Conference history.
 
He was the highest-rated linebacker available on the draft board at the conclusion of this weekend's NFL Draft in Philadelphia.
 
At his NFL Pro Day in March, Cole recorded 32 reps on the 225-pound bench press and posted a 39-inch vertical during the indoor skills testing. Both of those metrics would have been tops among linebackers at the 2017 NFL Combine. He also recorded a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump and was clocked at 4.52 in the 40-yard dash.