Former Ouachita Baptist University All-American TJ Cole returned to his alma mater in May of 2026 as the running backs coach.
From 2018-2022, Cole became one of the most decorated football student-athletes to ever wear a Ouachita uniform. He owns school records for rushing yards, touchdowns, and scoring in a season with 1,672 yards on the ground, 26 trips to the endzone, and 156 total points in the 2022 Great American Conference championship run that featured an undefeated regular season and an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. His 1,530 rushing yards and 17 rushing scores in the year prior ranks fourth and ninth, respectively.
Cole ranks second in program history in career rushing yards (3,986), second in career touchdowns (49), and fourth in career scoring (294 points). He became Ouachita football’s first-ever two-time First Team All-American with AFCA honors in 2021 and 2022.
As a senior in 2022, Cole finished fifth in the voting for the Harlon Hill Award, which is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division II football. Also in 2022, Cole won the Darren McFadden Award as the top collegiate running back in the state of Arkansas.
Since graduating from Ouachita in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, Cole has worked as an assistant football and soccer coach at his high school alma mater, Pleasant Grove, in Texarkana.
