Featured Future is a summer series where the Observer will highlight local student athletes who are preparing to continue their athletic and educational careers at the college level, or those who have already begun that journey.
After playing four years of varsity football with Plant City High School, Cole Highsmith has committed to continue his academic and athletic journey at Southeastern University.
“It’s surreal,” Highsmith said. “Signing was a moment that every kid dreams about. Everyone always wants to go to the NFL and all of that, but that was never my goal. My goal was always to go somewhere and play college ball but not just be on the team and ride on the bus and go to the games, my goals and dreams were to get on the field and be able to play and I’m really confident that I’ll get that opportunity at Southeastern. It’s a very surreal feeling to see your dreams come true through hard work.”
As a freshman with the Raiders, Highsmith made the varsity team but found work largely on special teams, totaling three tackles while finding action in four games. And it wouldn’t come at the beginning of the year, but by his second season Highsmith would find himself in the Raiders’ starting lineup taking reps at both strong safety and outside linebacker under new defensive coordinator Kyle Jones, currently the linebackers coach at Southeastern.
“Coach Jones is a very, very hard coach just because his standards are so high,” Highsmith said. “So when he came in my sophomore year I was forced to mature very quickly. He told me from day one that he saw me playing a big time role on the team, a big time role on the team and believed in me and honestly developed me into what I am today, so I’m looking forward to it. I guess I wouldn’t say that he’s a hard coach to play for, but it’s very challenging because his expectations and standards are so high but it’s all worth it in the end. It was different, as far as I know we’d never had a coach like that and it changed everything. It changed the way we walked, it changed the way we talked, how we carried ourselves, how we played together, it honestly brought us all together as a whole – as a defense, as a whole team. Everything changes because the standard was raised. It was a struggle for everyone at first, to adjust and realize that we had to raise our own standards because if not, we’d get chewed out. The standards were so high but it was a good thing because on Friday nights when we’d play it was more fun than anything I’ve ever experienced.”
In his sophomore year Highsmith recorded 46 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks – the second-highest mark on the Raiders defense. As a junior, Highsmith was voted captain and became a force on Plant City’s defense. Now a full-time starter in the heart of the Raiders’ front seven, Highsmith finished second on the team with 92 total tackles, a whopping 20 tackles for loss, seven sacks and one interception while forcing a team-high six fumbles across nine games played on the year. And by the end of his junior season, college programs began taking notice.
A preseason injury forced Highsmith to miss the first three games of his senior season, but once back on the field the production continued to come together at a high level. Over seven games in his final season, Highsmith totaled 66 tackles with a team-high 9.4 tackles per game while racking up 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and punched in a rushing touchdown from the goal line in a 20-8 win over Jefferson to end the year with the first offensive touchdown of his career.
After conversations with a list of schools that included the University of South Florida and Arkansas State, among others, Highsmith ultimately committed to continue his athletic and academic career at Southeastern University. Highsmith said that the coaching staff pointed to his effort on the field, his aggressiveness and his hustle from snap to whistle when evaluating his tape. Southeastern’s football program also offers some comfortability, not only reconnecting with his former defensive coordinator in Jones but former Plant City teammates in Ian Jolly and Jose Rodriguez as well.
“Southeastern knew who I was, they cared about me and I could always tell that,” Highsmith said. “They really pursued me more than anything and I just got a really good feeling about it from the whole coaching staff, not just one particular coach, but the whole coaching staff made me feel that I was wanted and that I could be a big asset to the team. That played a big role in why I chose to go there.”
Highsmith will join a Southeastern squad that finished last season at 6-4, one season removed from an 8-3 campaign in 2021 where the Fire earned their fifth conference championship – all coming since 2015.
