The only thing that hasn’t changed about Greg Cole in the last few years are his two cougar tattoos  the Miami, Fla., native has a growling cat on his right biceps and another on his chest  and his nickname, “Hollywood.”

Change has been a fact of life for Cole during his football career.

“Whatever is good for the team,” the Kansas University senior said, “I’m on board. I want to win.”

Now Cole is a middle linebacker. It’s his fifth position in as many years and he has impressed coach Mark Mangino during spring drills.

“I’m pretty excited about our linebacking corps,” Mangino said. “Those guys are really becoming playmakers for us. I’m really pleased with that. They’re a solid part of our team right there, the linebacking corps as a whole.”

Cole (6-foot-2, 227 pounds) started three games last season as an outside linebacker and also saw a lot of field time with KU’s nickel defense package as a pass rusher. He said he likes playing middle linebacker better because “there’s a lot more action in there.”

Cole, who earned the nickname “Hollywood” for his flashy play in Pop Warner ball and even flashier attitude as a youngster, transferred to KU last year from Hutchinson Community College, where he played defensive end for the Blue Dragons.

In high school he was a wide receiver and tight end, but the HCC coaches moved him to the other side of the ball and even experimented with him as a defensive back.

Despite playing on the “other side,” Cole said playing defense has its perks.

“I like it a lot more,” he said with a smile. “I like hitting more than being hit.”

The Jayhawks will need Cole to make an impact at middle linebacker because Kansas lost four-year lettermen and starting linebackers Algie Atkinson  Kansas’ all-time sack leader  and Marcus Rogers, who led the Jayhawks with 96 tackles in 2001 despite missing the last two games with a knee injury.

Cole will be joined by fellow Hutch CC transfer Leo Etienne and Wichita sophomore Banks Floodman.

Etienne was runner-up to Rogers with 94 tackles. Floodman started the last two games after Rogers was injured and led the team in stops against Iowa State and Wyoming with 13 and 12 respectively.

Floodman has flip-flopped with Cole this spring. The 6-2, 205-pound sophomore played middle linebacker last season but has moved to outside linebacker. Glenn Robinson played in every game last fall and also returns.

“We just try and work hard and make it work,” he said. “We know that if we just work hard we’ll get better and better at what we’re supposed to do and then we’ll be a good team. We’ll win games.”