Denton ISD Our Impact In Your Community Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 12

Catching Up
with…
Cole Underwood
Who: 2010 Graduate of Guyer High School
Hometown: Denton
Age: 25
What’s up?
Not every college athlete spends a majority of their life playing a sport that differs from the sport for
which they receive a scholarship. Occasionally, though, the pieces all fall into place and players end up
where they’re meant to be.
After attending schools in Denton and Corinth, Cole Underwood began attending Guyer High School
with his older sister. As a freshman, he didn’t know many people, but looks back fondly on the
welcoming environment, great teachers, and friendly students in the early days of the school. A
natural born-basketball player (his dad played for South Carolina and East Carolina), Cole played
basketball his entire life, starting on a traveling team. He always dreamed of playing basketball for
Stanford.
His sophomore year, Cole showed up to varsity basketball practice, and it confused the coaches.
He took a closer look at his schedule and realized it said varsity football. After a meeting with Head
Football Coach John Walsh and Coach Adam Lynn, he learned that they had been watching him and
wanted him to try to play football. He hadn’t played since he was a little kid. He began working out
on weekends, improving his skills, as the Guyer Wildcats began improving on the field, winning more
games. By his senior year, the scholarship offers began arriving. The first two offers he received were
on the same day – Illinois and TCU. Yet, he tried to remain open to other offers and to be patient.
Soon, SMU, Nebraska, Purdue, Stanford, Yale, and Baylor all offered scholarships. Yet, one stood out
above the rest - the chance to play for his beloved Stanford.
But don’t take our word for it, here’s Cole in his own words…
Denton ISD: Did you always know you were California and Stanford University bound someday? 
Story by
Courtney Martin
Photos
courtesy of
Cole Underwood
Cole Underwood: I did and I have to credit my mom for this. My parents are the reason I am where I
am. They have helped me achieve all of my goals so far. When I was little, my mom subconsciously
ingrained in my mind that I was going to go to college. I wanted to go to a smart school and she would
say, “There are the Ivy Leagues and Stanford.” I always thought palm trees sounded awesome and
then I started researching on my own in middle school. I wanted to be a Stanford basketball player so
badly. I wasn’t even following the men’s team, but Nicole Powell was a small shooting guard for the
women’s team. I loved her and as I continued my research about the school, I fell in love with it.
DISD: What was it like to win the Orange Bowl as a freshman at Stanford?
CU: It was a huge deal for the school, their first time to a BCS bowl in a long time. I had redshirted,
but it was amazing because I got to go to South Beach. We played Virginia Tech and received
championship rings, which made me happy because all I had wanted was a ring. Unfortunately, it
wasn’t a Guyer state championship ring, but it came around. We went to the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona
the next year, which was an interesting game because lots of Guyer Wildcats were on the field and
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