Anyone else surprised by Coleman's play this Spring?

[Telx1]

I agonized over his play early last season at corner, and thought his days as a starter were probably over with the emergence of the true freshmen last season. Never gave a thought to him being moved to safety, and now reading lots of positives about his play there, and that he would be the starter if the decision had to be made today.

 

[Pennick44]

I agonized over his play early last season at corner, and thought his days as a starter were probably over with the emergence of the true freshmen last season. Never gave a thought to him being moved to safety, and now reading lots of positives about his play there, and that he would be the starter if the decision had to be made today.

Been hearing positive reports as you have. Also heard that Tranquil might be getting more reps at Rover which means that prospects at safety are trending up. Also heard last week that early enrollee Isaiah Robertson was excelling at safety.

 

[jimmer]

I agonized over his play early last season at corner, and thought his days as a starter were probably over with the emergence of the true freshmen last season. Never gave a thought to him being moved to safety, and now reading lots of positives about his play there, and that he would be the starter if the decision had to be made today.

I think we need to wait and see. He was bad plus last year..............jimmer

 

[IRISHJD98]

Coleman played both offense and defense, but he was really more of a running back in high school. He came into the program needing to be developed on the defensive side of the ball. From everything I've read he works hard and is willing to be coached.

He's managed to look good enough in practices in the past to earn a starting spot. So its not a surprise to me that he's getting good reports. IMO, the biggest test will be how he tackles when everything is at full speed. He may be a guy that benefits significantly from a coach that's good with teaching fundamentals. I think he may also benefit from the new strength training program as well.

 

[NDIRISH53]

Don't care what I hear about him. He's one of 2 players I've lost all hope for. They can say all the good they want about him but nobody has really seen anything it's just what we hear from the coaches and the over optimistic ND sports media. Hope I'm wrong but I don't trust him at all. If it's me I'm putting Julian playmaker Love at the safety spot

 

[Bodizephax]

I agonized over his play early last season at corner, and thought his days as a starter were probably over with the emergence of the true freshmen last season. Never gave a thought to him being moved to safety, and now reading lots of positives about his play there, and that he would be the starter if the decision had to be made today.

With Elko all bets are off !! Coleman could very well become an All American this year with the new coach. BVG failed the defensive student athletes. Including Coleman !

 

[OneillIrish]

Don't care what I hear about him. He's one of 2 players I've lost all hope for. They can say all the good they want about him but nobody has really seen anything it's just what we hear from the coaches and the over optimistic ND sports media. Hope I'm wrong but I don't trust him at all. If it's me I'm putting Julian playmaker Love at the safety spot

I think that's foolish, on several accounts.

Coleman has definitely shown ability in flashes, both in games and in open practices (meaning we didn't have to rely on coaches or UND.com's reporting). The issue for him is that he's 100% a zone CB...if he's a CB. He's good when things are in front of him, but he's not great at flipping his hips and transitioning, or really backpedaling.....and those deficiencies got him into trouble (a lot) at CB last year.

I'm not sure he's going to be a great FS or anything, but that position is a much better fit for his skill set, as he has the speed to cover a lot of distance, he's physical, has solid ball skills, and is a solid cover player when the play is in front of him (thus he doesn't have to transition of backpedal)

I think his biggest issues at FS are going to be his strength/mass and his tackling. He'll need to improve both A LOT if he wants to be an every-down starter at FS

We'll see, but I wouldn't write him off.....he certainly has potential at FS, imo




As for Love...that's tough.

I do think Love could be a good FS in some schemes/situations....but he lacks size/mass/strength which will ultimately limit him some, and he lacks long-speed...which will limit him in other ways.

Ultimately, I think Love is at his best when he's not defending down the field or large amounts of the field at once, but is instead in man-to-man coverage (even press-man, despite his size)'

I think Love's best long-term position will be at Nickel (his only shot at the NFL, imo) but right now it's very possible that he's our best FCB (since we're going back to playing field/boundary at CB)

It will be very interesting to see how the competition between Vaughn, Watkins, Love, Pride, and Crawford plays out at CB....and then where some of the other guys could force their way onto the field

At least we have some actual talent at DB now!

 

[jimmer]

Don't care what I hear about him. He's one of 2 players I've lost all hope for. They can say all the good they want about him but nobody has really seen anything it's just what we hear from the coaches and the over optimistic ND sports media. Hope I'm wrong but I don't trust him at all. If it's me I'm putting Julian playmaker Love at the safety spot

I think you might be right on Coleman. He seems to be in the middle of ALL BAD PLAYS last year.........jimmer

 

[echowaker]

I m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He s a young guy who was forced on the field before he appeared to be ready by sheer necessity. Sounds like he s improved greatly and hopefully has put himself in a position to be a solid contributor.

 

[TOMMY_23]

I m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He s a young guy who was forced on the field before he appeared to be ready by sheer necessity. Sounds like he s improved greatly and hopefully has put himself in a position to be a solid contributor.

I hope so too!