The Green Bay Packers signed T/G Cole Van Lanen to the practice squad on Sept. 1, 2021.
2020: Started all five games he appeared in at LT, missing the final two contests due to injury…Earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the league's coaches and second-team recognition from the media…Helped the Badgers rank No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 among Power Five teams in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking rating (95.0)…Vs. Illinois (Oct. 23): Helped protect QB Graham Mertz as he connected on 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five TDs with no INTs in the season-opening 45-7 win…At Michigan (Nov. 14): Helped the Badgers rack up 468 yards of total offense, including a season-high 341 rushing yards and five TDs on 51 carries (6.7 avg.) as they featured four players with 65-plus rushing yards.
2019: Started at LT in all 13 games he appeared in, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media and second-team All-America recognition from CBS Sports…Helped the Badgers rank No. 15 in the nation in rushing offense (233.1 ypg) and No. 12 in yards per carry (5.33)…Helped clear the way for Taylor as he racked up 2,003 rushing yards (tied for No. 3 in the country) and 21 rushing TDs (tied for No. 3) on 320 carries (6.3 avg.)…Part of a line that gave up only 20 sacks in 14 games…Vs. Michigan (Sept. 21): Blocked for Taylor as he posted 203 yards and two TDs on 23 carries (8.8 avg.) as the Badgers posted 359 yards and five TDs on 57 carries (6.3 avg.)…Vs. Kent State (Oct. 5): Helped clear the way for the Badgers' 348 rushing yards and five TDs on 55 attempts (6.3 avg.), including 186 yards and four scores from Taylor on 19 carries (9.8 avg.)…Vs. Iowa (Nov. 9): Part of a line that blocked for Taylor as he posted a season-high 250 rushing yards on 31 carries (8.1 avg.)…Vs. Purdue (Nov. 23): Helped clear the way for Taylor's third straight 200-yard effort as he registered 222 yards and a TD on 28 carries (7.9 avg.) and the Badgers racked up 403 rushing yards on 55 attempts (7.3 avg.).
2018: Appeared in all 13 games with one start, helping the Badgers rank No. 6 in the country in rushing offense (273.4 ypg) and No. 4 in yards per carry (6.22)…Blocked for Taylor, who led the nation in rushing with 2,194 yards…Part of a line that cleared the way for Taylor to rush for 100-plus yards in 12 of 13 games, including five games with 200-plus rushing yards and one with 300-plus yards…Vs. New Mexico (Sept. 8): Made his first career start for the Badgers, opening at LT and helping to clear the way for Taylor to rush for 253 yards and three TDs on 33 carries (7.7 avg.) as Wisconsin finished with 417 yards rushing on 59 attempts (7.1 avg.).
2017: Played in all 14 games as a redshirt freshman…Vs. Utah State (Sept. 1): Made his collegiate debut.
HIGH SCHOOL: Earned first-team all-state honors from AP as a junior and as a senior at Bay Port High School (Green Bay, Wis.) and was also named the Fox River Classic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year in both of those seasons…Earned first-team all-conference recognition as a junior and senior and second-team honors as a sophomore…Was named team captain and team MVP as a senior…Was invited to play in the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, just the second player from the Green Bay metro area to compete in the event to that point…Won a state title in the shot put as a senior at the Wisconsin Division 1 state meet in 2016, swept the discus and shot-put titles at the state meet as a junior in 2015 and finished as the state runner-up in both as a sophomore in 2014.
PERSONAL: Given name Cole Thomas Van Lanen…Born in Green Bay, Wis. …Father, Thomas, won the Wisconsin Division 2 state titles in discus and shot put for West De Pere (Wis.) High School in 1994…Did an internship with New York Life in the summer of 2019...Visited food pantries and senior-living homes while he was in college.
