Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Van Lanen had a strong senior year at Bay Port, earning FRCC Offensive Lineman of the Year honors for a second consecutive year and an invite to the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
He redshirted his freshman season in Madison and played sparingly the year after. By 2018, however, Van Lanen had grown into his body and was the "sixth" man on a well-regarded Wisconsin offensive line.
The arrangement called for Jon Dietzen, another Green Bay area product who attended nearby Seymour High School, to start at left tackle but only play about half the game to preserve his body following hip surgery – and that's where Van Lanen came in.
"Cole would come in and he had a really good chip on his shoulder," Rudolph said. "He wanted to prove he belonged in that group and he could be every bit as good."
There was some truth to that. As a sophomore, Van Lanen was Pro Football Focus' highest-rated offensive tackle (90.4). In 2019, when Dietzen took what amounted to a one-year hiatus to deal with lingering injury issues, Van Lanen assumed the full-time starting job at left tackle for the Badgers.
Van Lanen grew in several areas during his time with the Badgers, including to pass protection. One thing he brought from Day 1, however, was tenacity in the run game and it helped him fit right in on a competitive Wisconsin offensive line.
There was one Big Ten game a few years ago where the Badgers called six or seven straight power runs to Van Lanen's side. The opposition surely knew what was coming…and it didn't matter. Rudolph, on the sideline, was grinning from ear-to-ear.
It was around that time it donned on Van Lanen that he might be able to play beyond college.
"You always dreamed of (the NFL) but you know even in high school, I was just wanting to play D-1 football and get my college paid for," Van Lanen said. "And once I accomplished that and knew I was excelling in what I was doing at Wisconsin, that was really when I knew that opportunity and that dream could come true."
His time in Madison came with adversity, as well. In his first full year at left tackle, Van Lanen encountered his own injury issues that year but still started 13 games and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.
He bounced back during his final collegiate season in 2020, though. While Van Lanen missed his final two games due to injury, the Big Ten coaches thought highly enough of his first five appearances to place him on the conference's first team.
"He went through a little bit of injury going into his junior year and realized, 'Jeez, everything doesn't just come easy.' It's a lot of work to come back off something like that," Rudolph said.
"I think that gave him some really good perspective and he had a heck of a senior year. I think there's always that development you have on your journey and he was a fun one to go through it with because you knew he cherished it."