Coleman’s First Touchdown Is ‘Amazing’
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Lavon Coleman stood in the hallway outside of Washington’s locker room. He thought about what it meant to score his first collegiate touchdown. Then a wide smile spread across his face.
“It felt,” he said. Then he paused. He took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he settled on one word: “Amazing.”
The redshirt freshman scored his first touchdown in his second game, finishing with 118 yards on 17 carries during the Huskies’ 59-52 win over Eastern Washington at Husky Stadium.
“It felt really good,” Coleman said. “I don’t know what it was, but I didn’t really celebrate it too much. I jumped around with my teammates, but one thing my high school coach taught me is you’ve got to act like you’ve been there before.”
After finding the end zone on a 9-yard run, Coleman looked like he had “been there” more than once.
“I followed Dexter (Charles) all the way down,” Coleman said. “He made his block, and that’s when I cut off of him.”
The touchdown was a moment Coleman had envisioned since he signed with the Huskies.
“You always picture touchdowns as a running back,” he said. “The one I pictured for sure is breaking free and scoring, but you know how that turned out.”
In the second quarter, Coleman broke free for a 54-yard run. He was tripped up before he could reach the end zone. While he wasn’t able to pick up his second touchdown of the afternoon, he was able to set up a score for teammate Dwayne Washington, who crossed the goal line two plays later.
The Huskies had five different running backs contribute Saturday, including linebacker Shaq Thompson, who had a 57-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Cyler Miles added three rushing scores. Washington scored twice. As a team, the Huskies finished with 356 yards on the ground.
“I don’t think you see it anywhere in the country where you can rotate four to five backs that can all produce,” Coleman said. “That’s a really scary sight for the defense, because each running back holds his own abilities.”
The Huskies also got contributions from Jesse Callier and Deontae Cooper, in addition to giving carries to receivers John Ross and Jaydon Mickens.
“You compete against each other every day and then when it comes to game time, the competitiveness is still there,” Coleman said. “When you get your reps, you’ve got to attack your reps, because the next guy is just as hungry as you are.”
Running backs coach Keith Bhonapha tells his players to “attack your rep.” It is an idea all of Washington’s ball carries have embraced.
“When it’s your rep, you’ve got to attack it, because the next man is just as hungry,” Coleman said.