Cole grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and attended East Lake High School. He was a four-year starter for the East Lakefootball team and was a participant in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also a first-team all-state player in Florida during the 2013 season. Cole's high school coach, Bob Hudson, said of him: "He's that guy, as a coach, that you want a whole team of. He does what he's supposed to do. He stays out of trouble. He's not late to meetings. He's not lazy. He's always moving. He's coachable. He can take criticism. He doesn't need praise every play. He's what you dream of as a coach."
College career
Cole had scholarship offers from numerous universities, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State. In February 2013, he announced his verbal commitment to the University of Michigan. Cole enrolled early at Michigan in January 2014 at age 17. He was impressive in spring practice and in fall practice, leading to speculation that he might start as a true freshman. Running backJustice Hayes said: "Mason is a phenomenal player, he is a freshman but he doesn't play like it at all. He plays like he's been there for a couple years." On August 30, 2014, at age 18, Cole became the first Michigan offensive lineman to start in the season opener of his true freshman season, and the first to start at left tackle as a true freshman. Since true freshmen became eligible in 1972, only five have started any games on Michigan's offensive line: Bubba Paris, Tom Dixon, Dean Dingman, Justin Boren and Kyle Bosch. In the 2014 season opener, Michigan backs set a Michigan single-game record with 9.7 yards per carry, and the offensive line was credited with the outburst. Following the 2016 season, Cole was named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media. Following the 2017 season, Cole was again named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team, by both the coaches and media.
Professional career
On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Cole accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl. On January 27, 2018, Cole played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl as part of Denver Broncos'head coachVance Joseph's North team that lost 45-16 to Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team. Cole attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine drills. On March 23, 2018, Cole participated at Michigan's pro day and performed the vertical jump, short shuttle, and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Cole was projected to be a fourth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the fifth best center prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and Scouts Inc. The Arizona Cardinals selected Cole in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Cole was the fourth center drafted in 2018. On May 31, 2018, the Arizona Cardinals signed Cole to a four-year, $3.32 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $761,516. He was named the Cardinals starting center in 2018, and started all 16 games. Cole entered the 2019 season as a backup interior lineman. He started two games at left guard in place of injury.
