Having attended the Scarlet Knights’ spring camp just two days earlier, Snyder answered the call and few moments later Okruch told the soon-to-be Southwestern senior quarterback that he should give Rutgers head coach Chris Ash a call as soon as he hung up the phone.

Pressured to immediately call Ash by his parents, Cole asked his dad, Ron, to pull over so he could have some privacy while making the call.

“I can’t put that into words,” Cole said of the feelings that came over him waiting to make the call. “I threw away my meal because my stomach was in knots.”

Just south of Meadville on Interstate 79, Ron Snyder pulled into a rest stop and Cole got out to make what would become the most important phone call of his life.

Photo courtesy of Smyklo Photo

“He wouldn’t let us hear the conversation,” Ron recalled. “We were all thinking he’s getting an offer, but maybe (Ash) was saying they liked what they saw and wanted to see more.”

After a few minutes talking with Ash, Cole gave Ron, his mother Tammy and his older sister Kayla a wag of his index finger after he was offered a scholarship to play Big Ten football at the Piscataway, New Jersey campus.

“You can’t believe the emotions,” Ron said after realizing his son had achieved his dreams. “It was so awesome that we were there as a family to experience it. It’s something we’ll never forget.”

While HighPoint Solutions Stadium is nearly 400 miles — a six-hour drive — away from the Trojans’ Charles A. Lawson Field in West Ellicott, it will feel like home to Snyder in the not-so-distant future.

How he ended up there is a combination of a lot of hard work and determination.

Photo courtesy of Smyklo Photo

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Ron Snyder grew up in Busti and played quarterback for the Southwestern Trojans in the early 1980s.

A left-handed signal-caller, Ron’s Trojans never won a Section VI championship, but did go 5-4 his senior season, losing three of their games by fewer than five points each.

After high school, Ron played football collegiately at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, until a knee injury during his freshman season ended his career on the gridiron.

Also a pitcher, the southpaw played for the Tomcats baseball team his final three years of college, earning all-conference honors along the way.

Photo courtesy of Smyklo Photo

Ron and Tammy were married in 1994 and settled down in Tammy’s hometown of Warren, Pennsylvania, where they started a family. They returned to the Lakewood area in August of 2007, when Kayla was 9 years old and Cole was 7.

“Before he could even walk I had a football in his hands … constantly playing catch,” Ron said. “When he was 5 or 6 years old I was teaching him 3-step and 5-step drops … going through all that stuff, hoping like nothing else that he’d end up being a quarterback.”

Ron coached Cole’s midget football team, the Spartans, in the Jamestown Area Midget Football League, while his son also took a liking to baseball and hockey.

“I’d let him run plays, teach him how to read defenses when he was 7 or 8 years old,” Ron said. “I got to coach him for a few years. That was a great experience.”

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In another part of Chautauqua County in the early 2000s, Jehuu Caulcrick was blazing a trail across Class D gridirons — notably the “Pasture of Pain” in Clymer — that nobody in the area had ever witnessed before.

The running back who escaped Civil War in Liberia and could have had a movie made about the first 25 years of his life, was carrying the Pirates to Class D sectional championships and appearances in state playoff games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

Along the way, Caulcrick — a four-time New York State Sportswriters Association All-State selection and the 2002 Class D Player of the Year — would gain the attention of big-time college football programs, most notably Michigan State University.

“It’s a lot different now. Back then there were a lot more letters sent, but now there is Twitter and all of those different things,” Caulcrick said about the recruiting process in 2003 vs. 2018. “I told Cole to enjoy the process. It’s a heck of a ride and a heck of an honor to be considered by a Division I program. I just told him to enjoy it, make the most of it and take advantage of it.”

After committing to the Spartans, Caulcrick continued to wreck havoc on opposing defenses, finding his way into the Michigan State record books along the way.

After bouncing around the National Football League for parts of five seasons — suiting up for his hometown Buffalo Bills in 2010 — Caulcrick’s playing career would come to an end at the age of 27.

“Coach Caulcrick played five years in the league so he has connections. That really helps having his name out there,” Cole said following the Trojans’ Red-Blue Scrimmage last Wednesday night. “He couldn’t have helped me any more than he did. And a big shout-out to the Sirianni family because they helped me a lot during the recruiting process, too.”

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Coincidentally, in central New York state, just as Caulcrick’s pro career came to an end in Western New York, John Kinder Jr.’s collegiate career at Syracuse University was getting started.

A 2009 Second-Team All-State quarterback from Lawrence High School on Long Island, Kinder led his team to a 29-9 record during his high school career. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and 22 touchdowns while also running for more than 2,000 yards to go along with 88 touchdowns.

With the Orange, Kinder learned invaluable knowledge from head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — a pair who later coached with the Buffalo Bills and currently are with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I will be forever indebted to those guys because of the knowledge they gave me. I can’t thank those guys enough,” Kinder, now an offensive assistant and quarterback coach at Southwestern, said following last week’s scrimmage. “They gave me so much information. I base all of my principles and my foundation coaching quarterbacks off things they taught me.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies at Syracuse, Kinder had one more year of eligibility remaining on the gridiron so he played one season at Stony Brook University, an FCS school near his hometown.

With the Seawolves, Kinder played in five games while also completing his master’s degree in higher education administration.

College now complete and Kinder looking for where to take his next step in life, an unfortunate event led him to southern Chautauqua County.

Kinder’s father-in-law passed away, so he and his wife moved to the area to be with his mother-in-law during her time of need.

After purchasing his father-in-law’s childhood home in Lakewood — it had been in the family 87 years — Kinder found employment at Jamestown Community College and Jamestown High School through a grant with the Liberty Partnerships Program.

“I knew I wanted to get myself involved in the community. I thought coaching football would be a good way to give back,” Kinder said. “When I was playing, I never thought I would be here coaching right now.”

Kinder and Caulcrick struck up a relationship — one that would benefit Snyder’s high school career in ways that cannot be measured.

“Jehuu and I … our working relationship began as soon as we met one another,” Kinder added. “We’re just two guys that love football so much. We put a lot of time and effort into it. That was a match made in heaven from the start.”

“It’s been absolutely huge,” Caulcrick said about Kinder joining the Trojans’ staff. “To be 100 percent honest, I feel to be a good head coach you have to surround yourself with good people. We were fortunate to have him land in our laps.

“He’s an energetic guy. Him and I are on the same wavelength. We’re up late at night talking X’s and O’s,” Caulcrick added. ” … We are very fortunate to have him be a part of this program. He’s a great addition, not only to the school, but to the community.”

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Caulcrick took over the Southwestern football program in the fall of 2015 when Jay Sirianni — winner of two state championships — stepped away from coaching.

During his freshman year, Snyder sat behind New York State Sportswriters Association Honorable Mention All-State quarterback Ben Burk.

Waiting for his time to shine, Snyder stepped into the spotlight his sophomore season, at the same time Kinder joined Caulcrick’s staff.

“With Cole, it’s been a pleasure watching him grow and develop over the years,” Kinder said. “I knew he would be special right away because I would throw next-level concepts at him, things I didn’t get a good hold of until well into my college years, and he was picking it up as a 15-year-old kid.”

With the three together leading the Trojans program in 2016, Snyder threw for 1,508 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also ran for 232 yards and three touchdowns while Southwestern went 6-1 in the regular season.

The Trojans then met Cleveland Hill in the Section VI Class C championship game at New Era Field, but lost 52-21.

“(Coach Kinder) came my sophomore year and he came from Syracuse so he knows what he’s doing,” Cole said. “This whole coaching staff has a nice resume, so that helps with the trust. Coach Kinder is one of the top reasons, if not the top, why I am where I am today.”

Snyder’s performance that season turned heads across Western New York and the entire Empire State, resulting in the sophomore being named a Second-Team All-State selection.

Last year as a junior, Snyder completed 113-of-211 passes for 1,587 yards and 18 touchdowns before again losing to Cleveland Hill in the sectional final at New Era Field. After the season, Snyder was named a First-Team All-State selection. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder then performed at Football University camps in Nashville, Tennessee and Rock Hill, South Carolina, before being invited to the National Combine at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

“Cole soaks it all up like a sponge. He’s a different kid,” Ron said. “I like to think that I’m a pretty realistic parent … but you look back and Cole has been a sponge for any kind of knowledge of any game. I’ve always been amazed. I’d put him up against anybody as far as how much he knows about any game he plays, no matter what sport. That’s what sets him apart from a lot of kids.”

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Following his sophomore season, Cole linked up with Tom Repicci, a national scouting coordinator with PrepStar.

“My initial thought was that we definitely have at least a (Football Championship Subdivision) kid here. I thought Ivys and Patriot League were definitely options,” Repicci recalled during a phone conversation earlier this month. “I was first reaching out to those schools and some of those schools were interested. After a couple of rounds of that, I said let’s kick it up and go after some bigger schools. … Once his junior year started and he continued his level of play, that was something that told me he was on the borderline of getting there.”

Through connections he’s made throughout his career, Repicci was able to show Cole’s game film to Mike Pawlawski, a former University of California quarterback, who won the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year award in 1991 after leading the Golden Bears to an 10-2 record and a No. 8 national ranking. Pawlawski currently is a color analyst for Cal broadcasts on Comcast SportsNet.

“I sent Cole’s film to Mike and said, ‘Take a look at this kid.’ He said ‘I like him, he’s doing some really nice things,'” Repicci said about a conversation with Pawlawski.

“Watch how he goes across the field and goes to his fourth read. That kid has some ability,” Pawlawski told Repicci.

“He’s watching Pac-10 football and seeing this,” Repicci said. “That was an eye-opener.”

With Repicci’s support, Cole began to think bigger and, after looking at FCS schools, decided to dip his foot into deeper waters.

“Part of the thing is … we try to find academic, athletic and cultural fits. Cole is blessed in a number of ways and one of them is his athletic ability,” Repicci said. “He has great parents who are very supportive. They’ve raised him well.”

This spring and summer, Snyder made the rounds at multiple Division I recruiting camps. The weekend of his verbal commitment to Rutgers, he had attended the Scarlet Knights’ camp Friday night, drove to a camp at Lafayette College north of Philadelphia on Saturday, and then drove to a camp at the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday. On his way home from the Panthers’ camp, Cole received the offer from the Scarlet Knights.

“We really needed somebody like Tom contacting schools that Cole wanted to go to,” Tammy said during a conversation weeks after Cole received the offer. “It took a lot of pressure off of us. We are not professionals and weren’t familiar with how the process worked.”

After talking to Coach Ash on June 3, Cole considered his options for a couple of days, before ultimately making his announcement the evening of June 5 that he would attend Rutgers.

“Coach Ash was so nice and down to earth. That’s what we liked about Rutgers. Those coaches … have been the nicest group of guys that you could ever imagine,” Ron said. “Cole was saying he still wanted to go to the Michigan State camp. … and I told him, ‘You’re absolutely crazy if you don’t commit. You don’t want to lose that spot.’

“He took the ride home and the next day, then said, ‘I thought a lot about what you said and you’re right, (Rutgers) has absolutely everything I’m looking for.'”

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With his college choice in the rear-view mirror, Cole is now solely focused on his senior season at Southwestern.

The Trojans return wide receiver Alex Card and tight end Faizan Munir, as well as fellow seniors Nick Everson, Brice Lowe and Mayson Mathews, among others.

“They make it such a blast to play football and come to practice every day,” Cole said about his teammates.

Southwestern will open with Class C South newcomer Franklinville/Ellicottville.

“Cole has to play his game and get others to follow,” Caulcrick said. “One of the biggest things that he possesses are his leadership qualities. He just has to get the rest of the team to follow and buy into what the coaches are preaching and teaching.”

The Trojans will still be chasing that elusive Section VI championship and ticket to the Far West Regionals that comes along with it going into Cole’s third year under center.

“He has to leave his legacy, that’s the biggest thing,” Caulcrick added. “We set our goals, and his goal is to win a state title. He feels he has a lot on his shoulders to help carry this team to a state title.”

“Some people say there is more pressure now because of the commitment to Rutgers,” Cole said. “You have to perform, but there is no pressure if you’re prepared.”

When football season ends, high school will be nearly over for Cole as he will graduate shortly before signing his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 6. That will likely come after early enrollment at Rutgers.

“If you go to the Patriot League, you can’t do it,” Cole said of early enrollment. “I wanted to play in the Big Ten and I ended up accomplishing that goal.”

Spring enrollment for incoming freshman athletes has become commonplace at big-time programs over the past several years, giving players — quarterbacks especially — a head-start on becoming acclimated to the coaching staff, their teammates and the playbook throughout spring practices.

“They had two freshmen quarterbacks come in last year and (offensive coordinator) Coach (John) McNulty said it helped them a ton with their development,” Cole said. “He said that I could do that and I told him I wanted to take full advantage of that.”

Cole will be one of a number of quarterbacks battling for playing time with the Scarlet Knights over the next couple of seasons.

Coming from a small school in Western New York might seem to put him at a disadvantage.

But with Kinder and Caulcrick on the staff at Southwestern, Cole has two good examples of players who were probably told they would never make it at big-time NCAA Division I institutions.

It probably wouldn’t be smart to bet against Cole either.

“He’s a kid who sets goals for himself, went after them and accomplished them,” Repicci said. “The sky is the limit.”