Dewayne Coleman rolled out of the pocket and sprinted toward the end zone on fourth down.
Coleman was going to go all out in Army’s first preseason scrimmage.
Just before the end zone, Coleman lowered his shoulder and delivered a hit to rushing linebacker Eric Ford, scoring a touchdown.
“Growing up in Detroit, Michigan with my pops (also Dewayne), we always talk about being a tough man,” Coleman said. “When I came to that goal-line situation, I think back to my Little League days with the Outlaws. They always use to harp on finishing the run and falling to the floor. I got a flashback to my childhood and I was able to get into the end zone.”
Coleman’s toughness certainly fits the profile of an Army quarterback. The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder’s grit was instilled by his parents.
“My mom (Val) and my father are big on toughness – mental toughness and physical toughness,” Coleman said. “I like to pride myself on those two things when I come out here and influence that into my team as well.”
Coleman was the second quarterback to take the field during Army’s scrimmage behind junior Bryson Daily. He’s moved up the depth chart with the loss of senior Alex Meredith for the season earlier this week. Coleman has impressed Daily with his improvement for the spring to preseason.
“He’s a really tough player, great competitor and to see how much he had grown since the start of spring ball is unbelievable,” Daily said. “I’m so proud of the things that he is doing every time he gets out there, he’s making big plays and getting that bow and arrow. He’s really exciting to watch.”
Coleman connected with sophomore wide receiver Taylor Saulsberry on a 25-yard touchdown on a corner route during the scrimmage.
“I just trusted him to go and get it and I just put it high where only he could get it and he went up and got it,” Coleman said.
Coleman wasn’t perfect Saturday. He’s embracing the good and the not so good three weeks away from Army’s season opener at Louisiana-Monroe.
“I definitely want to capitalize on my mistakes I want to watch those things on film with coach (Drew) Thatcher and try to be as perfect as I can leading up to the first game,” Coleman said.
