C.J. Cole arrived at West Virginia as a walk-on.
He ended up carving a spot as a core member of the Mountaineers special teams, a relentless worker for former West Virginia wideouts coach Bilal Marshall.
Now, after 37 games in his West Virginia career, Cole is advancing to the coaching ranks.
He's accepted a spot as a special teams assistant at Rice University under first-year Owls coach Scott Abell, FootballScoop has learned.
It's a jump-start to Cole's coaching career in the area he garnered most of his playing time during his four seasons at West Virginia.
In addition to his production on the Mountaineers special teams unit, Cole also was a reserve wide receiver. He served as FCA president as well, with his former West Virginia coaches praising him as "a really good leader of men."
Cole also was a multi-year Academic All-Big 12 Conference honoree.
Rice hired Abell late last year to replace the departed Mike Bloomgren.
The Owls are scheduled to open their 2025 season Aug. 30 at Louisiana before a home game the following week against intracity rival Houston.