ProjectLuhmann - 8:1:25, 8.02 AM.mp3
 
Alan Babbitt [00:00:11] Welcome to another season of the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast. My name is Alan Babbitt. I'm the Sports Information Director here at Hope College, where we believe intercollegiate sport is a powerful vehicle for education and personal development. The mission of Hope Athletics is to promote and provide programs defined by academic success, competitive excellence, and transformational experiences. Monthly conversations with members of the Orange and Blue family spotlight their experiences with the Hope athletics mission. With me today on the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue podcast as American Football Coaches Association and Associated Press All-American linebacker Cole Newman, the 2024-25 Hope College male athlete of the year and a 2025 Hope College graduate. Welcome to the Orange and Blue podcast, Cole.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:01:00] Yeah, thanks for having me.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:01:02] Could you tell me a little bit about your journey to Hope College? You hail from Rochester, Michigan and Stoney Creek High School. Did you always grow up on the east side of the state?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:01:13] Yeah, always been Rochester, same house right there on Linwood Avenue, where I've always been.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:01:20] Talk about that and how that shaped you and prepared you for the success you had at Hope College. Talk first with your family. Was sports something, obviously, when we'll talk more later about your brother Seth, and I don't know if you have other siblings, but was sports always something that was part of the Luhmann family life?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:01:37] Yeah, it was actually. So my dad was a football coach my entire life. So I've always been around the game football and played as many sports as you could as a little kid. Growing up, soccer, football, basketball, baseball, whatever it was, I wanted to do it. So it was always as a young kid, yes, the sports were a big part of our household and just the way we did things.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:02:00] How did that, how does your experience with that shape who you are and develop? What did you gain from playing those different sports and having a father as a coach? What'd you learn from that as far as growing up and, and you know, how to, uh attack life the right way?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:02:20] Through my dad, I saw how to do not only sports, but life the right way into shows that hard work and discipline gets the job done. There was no cutting corners in coaching. There was not taking the easy way out. So I learned that at a very young age of like, if you're going to do it, do it to the best of your ability and do it right. And I think that kind of helped me with my mindset and set me up as I grew up for where I am today.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:02:43] Now, are you the oldest or?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:02:45] Oldest of three got a younger brother Seth who's gonna be junior here in the fall. Yeah, and then younger sister Eleanor who's going to be a senior in high school.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:02:54] What did your family do? I know sometimes sports can be all consuming, but it seems like you have a family that found that right balance where you enjoyed every minute of it, but also family was important too. Just tell me about your family as a whole and kind of what they've meant through you along your journey.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:03:12] Yeah, so my family has been everything. Super faith based Christian home, which is awesome. So we had that good every Sunday, we'd go to church together, kept that with us. And then being the oldest, like you said, they say you raise your younger siblings, but I feel like they also kind of raised me into the person I am today. Which is cool. And that's why I think I'm so like protective of them and just like want to set a for them. So yeah, I think my family and my siblings have actually done a ton in who I am today. My grandparents also live really close to where I am, so it was cool to just be around them and have a relationship with them growing up and just have them support me through everything, whether it was graduation, sports, whatever I was involved in as a kid.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:03:57] Obviously there's, you enjoyed football, you said you enjoyed a variety of sports. When did you zero in on realize not only that you could, but that you want to take football beyond high school.?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:04:09] As a kid, football's always been my No. 1. So it's always my favorite. But I didn't realize, I think until high school is when I was like, okay, I could actually kinda go play actual college ball with this. When I got to high school, I played football in the fall, wrestled in the winter, baseball in the spring. Winter, I remember I'd go to lifting in the morning before school, then I go to wrestling practice, and then I do travel baseball practice afterwards, and I was like, okay, this is too much. This is way too much, so I cut out wrestling and just focused on football and baseball. And then between those two, football is just the one I loved even more.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:04:43] Have you always been a linebacker?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:04:45] I think deep down, yes. I grew up playing quarterback, actually. And so I think the moment I realized I was gonna play linebacker was my freshman year. We were in practice, obviously full pads. There's not a ton of rules in the high school, like where now it's got to do shells and be all protective. So we're always hitting and stuff and I'm running quarterback and I just run this kid over and my coach comes up yelling at me, like, you're gonna get hurt, you can't do that. And I was like, okay, maybe I'm made for the defensive side of the ball. That's when I kind of pursued linebacker a little bit more than quarterback
 
Alan Babbitt [00:05:17] What have you learned that you've enjoyed about playing that position in particular?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:05:22] I think it's honestly similar to quarterback, but it's just defensive side ball. Kind of the leader, quarterback, the defense, which I like. I love the physicality aspect and just getting to hit people and just creating chaos. Like you're just trying to disrupt plays and just make the offense in tough positions. So yeah.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:05:42] Cause defense and offense, obviously different goals, different objectives. Was it something with that, obviously you talked a little bit about hitting, but something on the defensive side of the ball that really drew you in and causing that chaos that. D did you have a favorite, like linebacker growing up? Yeah. You know, in my days it was like Carl Banks and others like that. Lawrence Taylor, where you're like, oh my gosh. But for you, was there somebody that like, oh boy, I like how he plays on the football field at linebackers.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:06:10] Yeah, so the big one growing up was Ray Lewis, obviously. Certainly. But as I got into middle school and high school, I started finding Luke Kuechly a lot.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:06:18] When he was at Boston College, I started watching him and we got picked by the Panthers. I was like, man, I love this guy. Like off the field, he looks like an absolute nerd studying film. But then on the field he just flipped the switch and was a complete maniac. And we just tear it up.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:06:31] Obviously, you drew attention and became someone that wanted to be,recruited in college. What was your first contact with Hope College and Coach Peter Stuursma and that group and finding, beginning that journey to come here?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:06:46] Yeah, I can't remember exactly. I think it was late sophomore year, early junior year. I got a letter in the mail from Coach (Mike) Ricketts, which was pretty cool. Personal letter. I was like, oh, this is sweet. Just like, hey, it wanted to invite me to a game and all that. So that was cool. And then letters kept coming and coming and coming. And I think I ended up with about like 30, 35 letters, which was really cool. No other school that like recruited me had that personal aspect to it, which I thought was so cool. And kind of lean towards Hope College more than the rest of them.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:07:18] We should say Mike Ricketts, former defensive coordinator here, just a stalwart for the coaching staffs here and then obviously Jacob Pardonnet, one of his players, followed him as defensive coordinator. Now when you looked at, obviously you got the letters, you got to get, what's the first, do you remember when you came on campus and what you saw and what you remembered? Obviously on the field, but also off the field. Not just about the game of football.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:07:44] My parents actually went here. So I've always been familiar with Hope, but didn't actually truly dive into like the school aspect until I was like a junior, honestly, when COVID hit. So then it got really weird because the recruiting kind of like stopped because everyone got extra COVID years. So then they weren't really recruiting my class super heavily. But I remember coming on my official visit here during COVID and campus being completely empty. It was weird. But the things that I really liked about it and the reason why I ended up choosing Hope was one, obviously football and how personal they were and just that feeling of being wanted during the recruiting process. That's very difficult. Two, being the class sizes. I didn't wanna just be like row 17, seat three at a big university. I liked the small class sizes and getting that relationship with professors and just actually applying myself in school. And then three, the face aspect. I looked at other colleges, like Wheaton, for example, was a great school, but they make chapel. Like you have to go to chapel and you have to like sign up and scan in kind of thing. And that's what I love about Hope Here is like everyone that's in chapel like truly wants to be there and truly wants a dive into their faith. And that why I think what really stood out to me faith wise like, wow, this is awesome. Like everyone that's here wants it. It's not forced.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:09:08] The chapel here three times a week. HowwWould you describe to someone who has an experience to help college chapel? What makes it something that's so impactful?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:09:20] Quick 20-22 minutes of your day where you get to just stop, rest, and just gather with like-minded people that want to just hear Jesus. Worship two or three songs, hear a quick little lesson. It's perfect little pause in your day to just here something special and then just keep on going. And a quick reminder, too, that this is for him, so yeah.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:09:41] What, when you came here, you got here, when did you find that mathematics was a subject that you wanted to study and dive deeper into?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:09:50] So that's actually funny. I didn't end up majoring in mathematics. I'd started with it, and then I got to calculus three or four, and I was like, this isn't even math anymore. There's just no numbers. It's all letters. And so I actually changed the business, and I never updated the roster. But I thought it was cooler to have mathematics because it sounded smarter. So everyone's like, oh, you're in mathematics? I'm like, kind of. I kind of roll with it. But yeah.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:10:15] What was it about business you found? I mean, that's part of college is discerning. You may think you come into college. I want to study a, and then suddenly you realize, wow, and then you find B and then you're on a path to be.Wwhat was it about business that you found was the right, fit for you of a course for study?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:10:33] Yeah, I think when I realized math wasn't maybe for me, that uncertainty of like, shoot, what do I do? And with business being such a broad subject, there are lots of different things you can do with it, marketing, sales, HR, like all this stuff. So I was like, 'man, I'll just go into that and then I'll figure it out as I go, 'which was awesome. Like the business department here is awesome. It offers so many different courses. Do you get to see all those different types and styles? So yeah, I think that's why I leaned in it. And yeah, that was awesome
 
Alan Babbitt [00:11:02] Take me back to your first practice, you guys report and then you get on the field. What do you remember about that and like how you felt? Cause that can be, some guys are really confident with it and some athletes that come here or anywhere, they're like really confident. And then sometimes you realize, oh my gosh, there are so many good teammates around me that you realize. Okay. And then there may be some doubt that creeps in. What was it like for you? And then how did you deal with any of those uncertainties that you might have had in yourself when you got around the other guys and realized the talent level that you were playing with.?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:11:38] Guys are big here. Like we got some big dudes, which I mean, we had some big dude in high school, but like to see like 120 guys that are just love football and want to be here, are studs, like these are all the guys that were studs at their high schools brought to one cool, one big team, which is awesome.so I think there is that is hesitation of like also I'm 18 years old and there are 22, 23 year olds right here with me, and the same drill. So I think that of like uncertainty of like, what's next, like how am I gonna fit in kind of thing.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:12:16] Getting involved with the linebacker, how did you, when you got here and you got into it and dove into it, how did go from someone that was a freshman to someone who became an All-American and really over three seasons, contributed a lot defensively and got on the field a lot? What was your approach? And then how did see that come together and then for things to come together with a special season that your team had, but also that you had this past fall.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:12:44] I guess start looking back at freshman year. I didn't play at all, never stepped on the field once. The two weeks I had a chance to get on, I was out with COVID. So it was just the experience of like, man, this is like, am I ever going to get the chance to play? But I think that freshman year was nice. It was a learning perspective just to kind of sit back and get a bird's eye view of everything that goes on, see how the starters learn, see how they watch film, just get to adapt and kind of fit into this place, how I felt like I would and then sophomore year is kind of when it changed. I got in this mindset of like, I want this, I wanna go play, from not stepping on the field since senior year of high school. So I just kind of put my head down and worked like kind of just that summer just went to work and yeah, and they just kept building off of each year, yeah, building relationships and. Getting this team together with the way it was, like it was this year. This year was awesome. It was cool to be part of, I've been a part of good teams, but this team was great. There was like this togetherness, this bond, of how we just all worked together and won. Like I think of those row boats and how all the paddles are in sync just like that. It's just, that's how it felt like we were moving.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:14:00] It was special season first, uh, uh on beat or second unbeaten regular season, first 10 and all regular season first playoff win. And then when you went toe to toe with the eventual national champion in North central college, when did you realize with that last year from the moderate camp or when you got to a game or two that you realized, okay, obviously we've been good, but this team has a chance to really leave its mark in a unique way. What one was it you realized you guys thought? Okay, we've been good, but this is a little different good.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:14:35] There's so many moments that stick out, and I gotta go with homecoming here against Adrian. I don't know why, but like, I think looking back on the years, we always struggled against Adrian and to just absolutely demolish him this year and just put him in the ground. It was like this whole turn of like, okay, we are kind of owning them. And I think, I mean, since week one, we've been, we were rolling, which was cool to see, but it didn't really sink in until that MIAA play when stuff really, really It doesn't matter. But I think Adrian's when it's really stood out to me like, shoot, this is a really special season. We gotta keep going.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:15:17] Looking back and obviously when you're in the middle of the season, you're so focused on the next practice, the next play the next, that's just how you have to be wired to succeed in this game in particular, but looking back in having a, a few months to reflect on that, what are you going to take away about that season that will be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the 20, 24 blind Dutchman football team.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:15:43] That's a really great question. My initial thought is our defensive motto, which is win the next one. So regardless of how good, bad, or that just play went, how are you going to go about the next rep? Whether it's the next day in life, the next rep in practice, next rep in the game, how are going to about it and attack the next round? No matter what happened behind you, how are we going to look forward? Which is something that I think not only applies to sports, but applies to life. And it's just a huge mindset change.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:16:14] That playoff game Aurora, we're looking out here at Heeringa Center now looking out on a nice warm and sunny and that was not the case. It was cold and you guys had this breakthrough moment for this program to win the first NCAA playoff game and what do you remember about that game and what it mean for you and your teammates to put that notch out that you know it was you know what we can win in the playoffs too?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:16:41] I mean, first off, playing in feats of snow is just awesome. As a kid, like you're playing in the backyard with siblings and cousins, like dreaming of that. So just to have that atmosphere on the fans just packed. That just set the tone. That was awesome. And then knowing, obviously, first playoff wins on the line is just even more. But to leave that stamp and that staple here, especially home field, it was awesome Yeah, that's one for the record books too, so it's just awesome.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:17:12] Your coaches, you talked about being recruited by Coach Ricketts. He retired and Coach Pardonnet and others. Talk about the coaches you worked here that helped you become the linebacker you becam.? How did they help draw the best out of you and your, the other linebackers to be such a force on this defense.?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:17:31] Yeah, Coach Pardonnet was huge. Ricketts was awesome, just this defensive guru and just knew it all. One thing I loved about Coach P, though, was he was in our shoes five years ago. So he understands what it is to be a Hope College football player and even a linebacker. So just bringing his young, energetic mindset and just being able to relate with us was just the first step in just that connecting and just building a really tight relationship. And then he just, eventually each year, just kept getting better and better at the X and O's. It was just awesome to see him grow and just put us in the right positions to succeed. And then once he put us there, we were able to get the job done, which was awesome. I love getting to talk to, draw up on a whiteboard with him and just see how his mind works, because it's so cool.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:18:22] I would say in coach, in football, there's the football special teams and offense to all work together and play off each other. You also need someone as, as we have in business with a CEO that's leading everyone and pulling all the groups together so that rowboat stays moving in the direction. Talk about cCach Stuursma and what he does to connect with linebackers or safeties or incoming freshmen, guys on special teams. To have, obviously everybody knows he's legendary for his energy, but it's not just, he's just a rah rah rah guy. He has a way of connecting with everyone, no matter if they're a big offensive lineman or a kicker. Just talk about Coach Stuursma and what he's done, not only to help you guys as football players, but then as young men and then as students here at the college.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:19:11] I mean, obviously, like you said, the energy. I think it's easier to approach someone with energy and a lot of extraversion to him and all that coffee he drinks. But just that, like seeing him take time out of his day to talk with us one on one every once in a while, like the amount of times I've been in the training room and he'll come up to me and be like, hey, I was classed today or like see him go talk to other guys about like class work, like whatever it is. Oh, like how are your job applications going? Just like stuff like that, just to see him connect on a deeper level and not just football. Because once he steps on that field, he's a football coach. But off of this, he is just a guy that's just trying to connect and help us get to that next step in our life. So just seeing how he connects with everyone in different ways. We got a couple guys that love to surf or skateboard. And seeing him just talk with that and that, it's cool. So yeah.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:20:01] What, obviously you're here, you enjoyed a full football career, where when you come here, it's being part of the big part of it. And maybe the bigger part in terms of time is being a student.Hhow did you navigate with everything you're doing with the commitment that is football, um you know, during the season and then the off season, um and then with your studies to be able to stay on top of those you graduated last May? What did you find was the secret for you? To be able to get the most out of your full college experience and not just the football side of things?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:20:34] Yeah, um... I think that having a work-life balance, they say work-like balance, but it's school life balance, I guess, can be extremely tricky coming in. Like I remember freshman, you're struggling at first and just like, shoot, why don't I do my homework? Cause you have practice afternoon, you wake up early for lifting. So you have to carve out time throughout your day to do homework. And I've never done that because school is always seven to three growing up. So just the school wise, it was hard to just figure out of like, okay, I gotta get this stuff done. What's on my priority, get that done. And then I also worked a job here, which was awesome. I met some great guys at the transportation department and just made some extra money. But also just trying to balance that was tricky too. But it's just cool to meet people outside of football and just how their life is here and just get that perspective, which I really enjoyed.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:21:31] Obviously we've talked about some of the coaches here on campus. I know Coach Stuursma puts a very high priority on the other people and being this football program being showing gratitude for the other parts of whether it's transportation or, food service and all of those, or whether it's professors who are some of that there's someone that I'm sure there's a ton that contributed and poured into you here at hope that really you're going to remember our, you no extra appreciative of as you move on to your next chapter.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:21:59] I mean, obviously, transportation guys, like I said, I've worked there since freshman year. So I've had a great relationship with them. But also, I think, like a couple of teammates could pop in my head as Adam Gill graduated my sophomore year. It was just an absolutely amazing role model for me and just guided me along the way through that process of starting and just being so supportive. It was amazing to witness. And then Coach Sturrs, obviously for his Amazing and energetic self just connecting with all of us and building relationships One that will just last for a lifetime professors that's obviously like I talked about the small class sizes you're able to do that I think of like Chad Carlson and just being able to talk sports with him and a couple other my professors that stick out And it was just so easy to just talk with them because they know what's going on around here They know who I am personally and then me just getting to also know them which was awesome
 
Alan Babbitt [00:22:56] I know another big part of the people here are, we're looking right across the hall at the athletic training room. I'm sure you spend a lot of time, especially as you get older, even though they're still young, that body in the football game adds up to just talk about the athletic, training and what they mean to this, this program.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:23:12] Yeah, I guess that's my bad for leaving them out. But TK, Eric, Mariah, they all do an amazing job in there. Like honestly, I think that was half the reason for so much of my success is staying healthy. My junior season, I battled injuries since day three of camp, whether it was a hamstring, a bruised arm, sprained ankle, I was dealing with it all. So I spent every day junior in there with them and then I was like, you know what? I'll just do it senior year two and just keep my body right to help prevent it. And so that's what I did. So. Just getting to build with them, and then have them see me grow is pretty sweet. And just like Eric and I go golfing all the time. So it's just this cool relationship that we built and then just working out with them doing cardio Tuesdays we did on the off season to get ready for this year. And yeah, they do a phenomenal job and they're getting us right. And just seeing them interact with other athletes too, like women's basketball, tennis, golf, like all these other teams are in there too. And just seeing that they all want the best for us and want to get us back out there as soon as possible.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:24:15] Obviously a little different for you this summer. You're not training for a football season for the first time, probably since you were, uh, maybe before you even started football, what's the transition been like and kind of what's next for you? What are you looking to do now that you've graduated from home?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:24:33] Transition at first felt fine. Like it was like, oh, we're going to spring and this is how it usually is We go to the spring and then summer hits and it's like, okay We're not working out as intensely as we used to. I mean, obviously I love working out so I still do but Yeah, it's not the same. It's weird and now with fall right around the corner. It like man. This is weird So it's it's starting to hit in a little bit more With future stuff. I really obviously love sports and I want to stay around sports So I'm looking to get in the sports industry I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of companies, but. It's really fascinating to see how much stuff you can do in the world, especially the business world. Like I said, it's so broad and realize that it's that broad. So yeah, it is cool. Hopefully you get in the sports industry somewhere and definitely come back here and watch some football.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:25:20] There are some freshmen that are coming in this fall that are going to be reporting by the time we were recording here in late July, and it'll be August one when we're hearing this and then football players report on August 12th, there's going to some freshmen. They're coming there that were like you four years ago. Thankfully without a pandemic kind of, shaking up the apple cart, but what, what advice would you give to them come in here? And obviously you'll probably see them and share with them if they want to get the most out of their Hope experience. Whether or not they become an All-American or not, or whatever they do, by the time their four years are done, they're gonna feel as good about their Hope College experience as obviously you feel.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:26:03] Two things pop in my head one being hope is full of opportunities whether it's on the football field or not you can get involved in so many different ways and meet so many great amazing people that can lead to like great relationships and great jobs down the road um which is super awesome and then two i guess more of a mindset kind of thing is life is hard like no matter what you do each day is hard. And it just like feels about making choices and it's like, okay, do I wake up early and get up and work out or do I do sleep in and then we have to work out later like you're still going to have to make choices and whichever way you go, it's going to be hard. It's just you got to choose your heart and how you want to move. So yeah.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:26:42] And obviously another part of the hope experience is Phelps dining hall. What is, should be their go-to dish if they're like, they need like, they need, they need fuel, but they want something that's, it makes it make, give us, you know makes them feel good. What would you, what'd you tell them to order?
 
Cole Luhmann [00:27:00] I guess not the best fuel. My favorite meal there would be the chicken tenders, the mac and cheese combo. That is a great combo. Fuel-wise, definitely the pasta. The pasta corn is pretty solid. Can't go wrong there.
 
Alan Babbitt [00:27:13] That's some good advice and we appreciate, Cole, you spending time with us on the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue podcast. We're looking forward, it's hard to believe, but early September, Hope football team will kick off and look forward to seeing Cole in the stands and seeing that. So thanks for joining us, stay Cole.
 
Cole Luhmann [00:27:31] Yeah, thanks for having me.