Still in the saddle, FGHS quarterback looks toward fourth year as starter

Jul. 1—Cole Mahaney's ties to his new head football coach at Fort Gibson go back a ways.

Mahaney's uncle, Chance Ross, was Ryan Nolan's favorite receiver at Keys. The passing combo set multiple school records together there.

"I do remember watching them play," Mahaney said. "I was pretty little then."

Then Nolan, who since had served as an assistant of various types at several Class 6A schools and most recently in Jenks' 2021 state title run, took over the Tigers' program in April. It was a job, and a connection, that Nolan had been aware of for some time.

"My uncle just said he was a great guy who he thought would fit in well with me," Mahaney said. "He talked about how he hated to lose and that he reminded him a lot of me and the way I play."

Nolan sees that competitive streak in Mahaney.

"I saw that look in the baseball playoffs when he was on the mound, two outs, runners in scoring position," he said. "There's a mental aspect there, how much of a competitor he is. He wants to compete, he wants to win. That's what you look for in a quarterback, someone who others can look at and say as long as that dude is on the field we have a chance to win."

While only his second head coach, Mahaney will have gone through three different offensive schemes as this season gets underway, and he's been under fire since entering the game as a starter early in his freshman season.

This season will be no different. The up-tempo spread offensive scheme similar to what Art Briles ran at Baylor is in his lap.

"It's simple for a lot of people but not the quarterback," Nolan said. "There's no pre-snap reads, it's all post-snap. You may not be able to read the coverage but you've got to be able to find the space of what the coverage is giving you. Our receivers will have four options on every play. Cole will have to be able to see the space the receiver is attacking and not just deliver a catchable ball but throw him open."

Mahaney, on the other hand, is comfortable enough with the scheme already to describe it as "simple." Which shouldn't really surprise his head coach.

"I've observed that he processes things very fast," Nolan said. "He's not a high-rep guy. I can talk through it with him and he walks on the field and is able to do it."

Mahaney being a three-sport athlete provides a component that will prove to be helpful in this offense, just as it was for Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, who like Mahaney, played both football and baseball at the high school level — Murray did both at OU as well, and you can add wrestling for Mahaney.

It's all in the hip thrust employed in both throwing the football for velocity and hitting the baseball with authority.

"It allows him to get a lot of power behind throwing in a small space," Nolan said,

That small space requires something else.

"I'm throwing from different arm angles so there's definitely some hip action needed," said Mahaney.

Something else is needed from Mahaney this year — a definitive leadership voice.

"He's a natural leader and now it's about legacy. As far as the older guys, they won't remember what you say but they'll remember how you made them feel," Nolan said. "That's got to be him.

"I'm also challenging him to be more vocal in a positive light helping young kids with the scheme. I can tell you how to run a post route but if you're on the field together and he's like 'hey listen when you get quarters coverage you want to step on his toes and keep on a high angle so I can bring you to the goal post.'"

Mahaney admits he's more the quiet, lead by example type who won't get in a face much in a confrontational way.

"I may ask where they were if they missed practice, stuff like that, but there's just some of that I just see as the coach's job," Mahaney said. "Coach hasn't got to be with me in a game yet, but he'll realize I talk more out there. Playing for four years I know how to talk to people and not make them upset or anything. I don't try to make it all known. If I'm talking, it's just me and them talking, just how I go about it."

One of the things Nolan said Mahaney's uncle and his former receiver told him about his nephew stands out as he gets to know him better.

"One of the things Chance said about Cole was that he likes being coached hard, which was the kind of relationship I had (with Gary Willis) at Keys," Nolan said.

"And Chance told me, if you set a high standard, he'll live up to it."

Fun fact

Mahaney is a two-time All-Phoenix selection, but as a punter, averaging 39.3 yards last year. It's something that makes him a four-down threat.

You'd think making the shift over to the quarterback position on that team would be a goal this year. Not really.

"I'm not really a stats guy," he said. "If I can help someone else get those and they get the honors, I have no issue there. My focus is on wins."