Signing day spotlight: O'Fallon Christian's Wunderlich perseveres, ready to sign with Quincy

College football will officially become his next challenge Wednesday.

That's when Wunderlich, a senior linebacker and offensive lineman for the O’Fallon Christian football team, will sign his binding national letter of intent to play at Quincy University. Wednesday is the first day of the regular signing period for NCAA Division I or Division II football programs. The regular period runs until August 1. The early signing period for the senior class was December 16-18, 2020, when a multitude of area standouts signed their letters of intent to secure their scholarship offers.

Wunderlich, 18, didn’t sign in the early period as mere days before it started Quincy was the first school to offer him a scholarship. Wunderlich resisted the temptation to snap up the offer and commit on the spot. He wanted to take his time with his decision.

“Football is my dream,” Wunderlich said. “I had to think about it, I had to take a step back and look at it.”

At 6-foot and 230 pounds, Wunderlich has good size. In the fall he made the transition from defensive line to linebacker because that’s where the Eagles needed him, and he excelled. He made 85 tackles, three tackles for loss and an interception. 

“He was an extension of the coaching staff on the field,” former O’Fallon Christian coach Dakota Conway said. “He’s a very intellectual football player.”

Conway resigned in December to pursue a business opportunity not related to football. Shortly after, O’Fallon Christian athletics director Mike Anderson announced the school would not field a varsity football team in the fall of 2021 as it tries to build the numbers in its program.

While Wunderlich pondered whether or not to take Quincy’s offer, he received some interest and offers from Division III schools. But he kept circling back to Quincy. He had been on the campus well before the coronavirus pandemic shut down visits. He had formed a good relationship with defensive coordinator and associate head coach Sean Kelly. It just felt right. So he verbally committed Jan. 17 and will follow through on that commitment Wednesday morning.

“It’s relaxing,” Wunderlich said. “It was stressful for a while.”

Wunderlich first buckled a chin strap and pulled on shoulder pads in second grade. He’s been enamored with the game and all that comes with it ever since. He said the weight room is the best place to bust up daily stress. Wunderlich watches more film than a movie critic. He and his father started in on film study when he was in middle school. Now it’s among his favorite things to do.

“It goes pretty deep for me,” Wunderlich said. “I love going deep into film because I can better myself with that.”

It’s that mindset that makes Wunderlich stand out. He’s willing to do things others won’t in order to be the best version of himself.

“What sets Cole apart is his hunger to get better,” Conway said. “Cole is looking at formations, schemes and what we can do defensively. All of that is because he loves the game.”

Even when the game left him on crutches his passion did not wane. He just shifted his perspective.

Wunderlich is well aware there are only so many snaps in a football career. That was driven home when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg four games into his sophomore season. He went down in a heap after what he thought was a hyperextension of his knee only to have the MRI reveal he had torn his ACL.

“I was surprised it was torn, I could still run on it,” Wunderlich said.

Recovery from ACL surgery is viewed as routine because so many athletes have returned. But there is nothing routine about the grueling recovery required to recapture someone’s previous form. It can be mentally and physically exhausting. Wunderlich decided if he was going to go through the pain it would help him on the other side.

“I was looking forward. How will I deal with this?” he said. “How will I get back to where I was? How do I get better to help my team next year?”

Wunderlich also had some extra motivation. He insisted on watching all of O’Fallon Christian’s football games from the comfort of his crutches on the sideline.

“It made me so angry I couldn’t out there. I never missed a game,” Wunderlich said. “The day I got surgery, we played Trinity and I showed up that day.”

The injury was a seminal moment for Wunderlich. It limited his opportunities because he was unable to participate at Lindenwood University’s annual recruiting camp in June that draws scouts and college coaches from across the country.

Going into his junior year, it would have been a good time for folks to get a look at him. Instead he worked to be ready for the start of the season in August. When his junior year was through, Wunderlich had 73 tackles and six tackles for loss while playing on the defensive line.

He was all set to show what he could do at the camp his junior year but the camp was canceled as the coronavirus pandemic wrecked the college recruiting schedule and college coaches were forbidden from recruiting in-person.

“It was hard (missing the camp), that’s how you get offers in the Midwest,” Wunderlich said.

Instead he let his film do the talking and it spoke to Quincy, a program that’s happy to have him and one he’s thrilled to officially join on signing day. That, Conway said, is the most exciting part. As the NCAA grants everyone an extra year of eligibility and the transfer portal bursts at the seams with players looking for new homes, going to a school where you’re wanted and you want to be a part of is invaluable.

“Finding a good fit for him is the biggest thing,” Conway said. “At the end of the day he’s at a place where he’s happy to be.”

Wunderlich doesn’t know exactly what lies ahead, but no matter it may be, he’ll face it, learn from it and get better because of it. It’s who he is.

And, it's football. 

“I can focus on going up to Quincy and being the best football player I can be,” Wunderlich said. “It’s a great opportunity. I’m just so thankful for it every day.”