Chad Cosse prepares for move with Rebels football

Chad Cosse has been a part of deep CIF Southern Section Division playoff runs and even a Division V-AA title with the Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball and basketball teams, respectively.

The three-sport athlete has yet to make the playoffs or even come close to a winning season with the Rebels football team, which is 3-14-1 since 2010. Still, Cosse doesn’t hesitate when asked what his favorite sport is.

“Football, definitely. … It’s just the team aspect, one guy just can’t take over,” Cosse explained. “You have to trust in everyone and everyone has to do their role or you won’t be successful.”

It may be Cosse’s favorite, but that doesn’t mean last football season — in which Prep went 1-8 and forfeited two games due to its 18-man roster being bombarded with injuries — doesn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Cosse describes last year as “just unfortunate and disappointing,” but, ironically enough, everything that came along with it helped cement football as his favorite sport.

“It’s because of what we’ve been through,” Cosse said of his team. “It’s been a tighter-knit group of people. No one can say we’ve been through what we’ve been through. It just brings us closer together, I wouldn’t really change it for anything.”

Now the senior is looking to help the Rebels turn it around in 2012.

Flintridge Prep Coach Antonio Harrison is looking to put Cosse in the best situation to do so by shifting him from left guard to tight end on offense and from the defensive line to middle linebacker.

“He’s gotten bigger, stronger, faster, quicker, so all we’re just trying to do is put him in situations to be successful and I figured those would be the best places for him,” Harrison said.

Of course, Cosse’s physical abilities haven’t developed overnight. Harrison said he put in tons of work in the weight room and studying the game in the offseason, attending two-a-day workouts with the football team, while juggling classes and basketball or volleyball.

“I think between sophomore and junior year he put on 20 pounds in the summer and just got huge and it hasn’t slowed down from there,” Prep quarterback Clayton Weirick said. “He’s the biggest guy on our team probably and it doesn’t mean he lacks any speed or coordination, he beats us in sprints. He’s all over the place because he works so hard.”

It’s that work ethic that’s made Cosse a leader on the team.

“They look to him and they respect him,” Harrison said. “He makes them work and he makes them better.”

All the work paired with Cosse’s 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame figure to make him a tough matchup at tight end and linebacker this season.

There were two changes to the team this season that have allowed Cosse to switch positions. First of all, the Rebels increased their roster size. A new recruit stepped into Cosse’s position at guard, which allowed Harrison to look to use Cosse’s athleticism catching passes.

Weirick is certainly excited about the move, as the two built a rapport over the summer.

“I can’t remember the last time he dropped the ball, actually,” Weirick said. “He’s consistently open.”

A change in the Rebels defense from a 4-4 to a 3-5 scheme paved the way for Cosse’s move from the line to linebacker, as it gives Harrison five linebackers. Cosse will look to anchor that group next to fellow middle linebacker Dylan Colliflower.

“No longer do we have him right there in the trenches,” Harrison said. “He is able to come downhill and clean up some trash.”

Whatever side of the ball he’s on, Cosse is looking to make a difference this season and help Prep football take a step forward.

“I want to leave a legacy of success so other people can see and say, ‘Flintridge Prep is all right, maybe I’ll go there and help out their team, too’ — just to start something new,” Cosse said. “It’s been awhile since we’ve done much. This year is really big for me to start a new chapter in Flintridge Prep football.”