Cole Holtz is in his second season with the James Madison football program in 2026, as he serves as an offensive graduate assistant, working with the offensive line.
In his first season with the Dukes, he coached all five starting offensive linemen to All-Sun Belt status, which included First Team honoree Pat McMurtrie, who was also a Phil Steele Honorable Mention All-American and the Touchdown Club of Richmond Offensive Lineman of the Year.
JMU’s offense ranked top 30 nationally in seven categories, which included ranking ninth in scoring (37.1) and 15th in total offense (452.6). The Dukes were also second in time of possession (34:13) sixth in rushing (241.5), 18th on third down (46.9%), 21st in yards per completion (13.14) and 22nd in first downs (22.57).
The Dukes led the Sun Belt in TOP, rushing, scoring and on third down after scoring north of 50 points in four games and gaining more than 500 yards in five outings.
A native of Richmond, Holtz began his coaching career fresh off completing his college career as an offensive lineman at VMI from 2020 to 2024.
Originally a walk-on, Holtz became a two-year starter for the Keydets, starting all 23 games at center during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was also part of the VMI team that won the Southern Conference title in 2020 (spring 2021) and advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history.
Holtz graduated from VMI in December 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and business with a minor in Spanish and a concentration in analytics.