Illinois native Harper Cole is in his second season as the Illinois football program's offensive skill and special teams assistant in 2026. Cole came to Champaign in 2025 from TCU, where he spent the 2024 season as an assistant running backs coach.

In his first season in Champaign, Cole helped Illinois to nine wins, a victory in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl, and a final ranking of #25 in the Coaches Poll. He helped the Illini offense average 29.4 points per game, the fifth-best offensive season in Illinois history, while the special teams ranked #30 in the nation by ESPN's special teams efficiency metric.

A native of Aurora, Illinois, Cole was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Waubonsie Valley High School for head coach Paul Murphy. As a senior in 2018, he helped Waubonsie Valley to a 7-4 record and a second-round berth in the IHSA state playoffs. 

Cole went on to play college football at Arkansas, where he was a walk-on wide receiver from 2020-22. He helped the Razorbacks to a 3 OT win over Kansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl, including his first-career reception on a 10-yard gain and a fumble recovery on a kickoff. 

Cole started in coaching as a student assistant at his alma mater, Arkansas, before moving to TCU in 2023 as an offensive assistant. He was promoted to TCU's assistant running backs coach in 2024, helping the Horned Frogs to a 9-4 record and a win over Louisiana in the 2024 New Mexico Bowl. TCU rushed for 1,481 yards and 26 touchdowns on the season, including six rushing touchdowns over Arizona as part of a season-ending four-game winning streak.  

Cole graduated from Arkansas in 2023 with a degree in business management.