By Jenn Boehm -- 187.

Sunshine.

C-Mags.

Ice Cold Magner.

Hemingway?

Grand Rapids WR Cole Magner has had a number of nicknames in his lifetime. Okay, I made up the last moniker, but it’s not necessarily a stretch.

“English has always been easy for me. So I’ve always enjoyed writing,” the 25-year-old said. “Novels, movie scripts, just stories, realist drama. I like drama along the lines of A River Runs Through It. A couple of people have read my stuff. But I feel like I have to critique and tweak them to make sure they’re perfect before I let anybody read them.”

Magner, whose favorite writer is 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy (author of the novel-adapted-to-Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men), has already written a couple of complete dramatic movie scripts of his own, including one about three brothers growing up in the Prohibition Era. He penned his first piece back in 2005 when he was on the NFL roster of the Atlanta Falcons.

“We flew from Atlanta to Japan to play a preseason game. It was 14-hour flight and I wrote something during it,” he said. “I’ve been writing since then.”

The Rampage are writing a dramatic story all their own this season. After a 3-10 start, Grand Rapids won its final three regular season games to qualify for the postseason. The No. 6-seeded squad carried its winning streak into the playoffs, knocking off No. 3 Arizona (48-41) and No. 1 Chicago (58-41) en route to an American Conference Championship matchup against a three-time ArenaBowl champ, No. 2 San Jose, on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s going to be a very difficult game,” Magner, now in his sophomore season, said. “San Jose’s experienced and well coached. They run everything very well.”

Grand Rapids kicked off the 2008 season by hosting the SaberCats in Week 2 and endured a 66-58 loss at Van Andel Arena. Magner did not play in the regular-schedule contest, but has certainly made his presence felt in the postseason, tallying 22 receptions for 165 yard and four touchdowns.

He praised Rampage head coach Steve Thonn for his guidance during his brief AFL career to-date.

“[He] has been a big influence on me,” Magner said. “How much I’ve learned from him, all his help teaching me the game. You can’t really put a price on that.”

“Cole has arguably the best hands in the AFL,” Thonn said. “He has very good receiver skills, but his determination and desire make him even better.

And he’s an unselfish player.

“The most important is hard work and willingness to be a good teammate,” Magner said. “Not all the time are you the one that the ball is going to. In those cases, it’s my job to get other people open. If the ball’s not coming to me, I’m going to do everything I can to get people open and help us win.”

Magner’s introduction to the AFL came in Columbus last season, where he played a key role in the Destroyers’ playoff push, National Conference Championship title and ArenaBowl appearance, as the Ohio team defeated the top three seeds in their conference, all on the road. Is this season a relocated case of déjà vu?

“I think there are a lot of similarities. Being the last seed, you play a lot looser. You have nothing to lose; while everybody expects you to lose. So all the pressure is on the other team,” he said. “That’s been kind of the key, we’ve been playing loose and unafraid.”

Growing up Palmer, Alaska, Cole Brice Magner, son of Randy and Cynthia, loved to fish and hunt. Raised in athletic family with five siblings, he discovered his passion for football. In fact, his father was his high school coach.

“My dad has been the biggest and most important influence in my life. He taught me the values and the characteristics it takes to be successful in sports,” he said. “He instilled that in all of us, to be competitive and to work hard. Growing up in a big family, it’s been important for all of us to not only be competitive, but also be passionate about what we do.”

Magner was named Alaska Player of the Year after earning first team all-state honors at quarterback and free safety at Colony High and leading his school to the state title game as a senior, completing 44 passes for 730 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 835 yards and 17 scores that season.

Five of the six Magner kids – that’s Seth, Amber, Miah, Leah, Cole and Rhett – went on to play collegiately, four on Division I scholarships nationwide, including the current Rampage receiver. But no matter how near or far, they always encouraged each other.

“We’re a very close family,” Magner said. “We get a lot of support from everybody.”

Magner, a product of Bowling Green, finished a stellar college career as the school’s all-time leader with 215 career receptions and sixth in receiving yards (2,385), fifth in touchdown receptions (18) and 10th in all-purpose yards (3,246).

He signed as an NFL free agent with Atlanta in 2005 and participated in training camp with the team in 2005 and 2006.

Also in 2006, on July 8, he and longtime girlfriend Heidi Romer, a former Bowling Green tennis player, were married. [Check out The New York Times wedding announcement.] While the couple doesn’t have kids just yet, the topic is certainly on the table for discussion. So, will it be another big family for the Magners?

“Four is the number that we’re thinking about now. She says it has to be an even number, so four or six,” he said. “She doesn’t want a kid in middle to feel left out, so she wants an even number. She was the middle child out of three, so she doesn’t want that for our kids.”

Like his father, Magner has said he’d either be a coach – or a fly-fishing guide – if he were not playing football. This fall, he’ll be doing the former as an unpaid assistant, working with wide receivers and special teams, at the University of Florida. It’s a reunion of sorts, as Gators head coach Urban Meyer recruited Magner to play at Bowling Green.

“It’ll be a great opportunity for me,” Magner told The Grand Rapids Press. “I’ve always wanted to get into coaching since I played for my dad in high school. I can’t pass it up.”

He’ll have the chance to pass along strong words of wisdom he carries from the days his own dad served as his coach.

“Never let the scoreboard dictate how you play,” Magner recalled. “If you’re down by 100, you’re still playing as hard as you can. If you’re winning by a 100, you still play as hard as you can. That’s been my motto.”

Magner hopes that with that mantra, his team can return the Foster trophy to the city of Grand Rapids, where the Rampage claimed the ArenaBowl XV title. No matter what happens, he’s enjoyed the ride this season as well as the Western Michigan community.

“Grand Rapids fans are great,” he said. “It’s been a great opportunity to be here and play. It’s been one of the most fun years I’ve ever had playing football.”