Derrick Coleman gives UCLA's running game a boost
UCLA FOOTBALL
Freshman overcomes hearing disability and knee surgery in his charge up the Bruins' depth at tailback.
Kahlil Bell has been grounded the last two weeks, churning out yards on a sore ankle. The safety net in the UCLA rushing attack has been freshman tailback Derrick Coleman, who has come off the bench to gain big yards in the second half the last two weeks.
Coleman had a team-high 86 yards rushing in a 36-31 loss to Fresno State, though he also fumbled with the Bruins driving in the fourth quarter. He had a team-high 49 yards, including a 31-yard run, in a 28-3 victory over Washington State last Saturday.
His play is even more remarkable considering he wears hearing aids in both ears. Coleman has been deaf since childhood, though the disability has never held him back in sports. He rushed for 2,340 yards at Fullerton Troy High and was one of four tailbacks signed by the Bruins last winter.
"He plays a position where he can see the ball snapped, and he is adept at reading lips," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "[Quarterback] Kevin Craft knows when he switches plays that he has to make sure Derrick knows."
Neuheisel said Coleman, "may be the one guy not impacted at all by the noise [Oregon's] Autzen Stadium this week. He's a real credit to people overcoming a disability."
Coleman managed to stand out in the freshman tailback horde despite having arthroscopic surgery on his knee during training camp. He leads the Bruins in rushing with 159 yards, while playing in only three of the team's five games.
"He's a guy I think we can count on," Neuheisel said. "For a young back to have arthroscopic knee surgery and come back like this shows he has a tremendous future. He's made a big play in almost every game he's been in."
Rush hour
Of the Bruins' four sacks against Washington State, two came from the inside, with defensive tackles Brigham Harwell and Brian Price getting one each.
"There is less space to work in there," Neuheisel said. "You don't have an edge. I think the guys who play those inside positions are usually less pass rushers and more space eaters. I think we've got two guys who can do it."
Defensive line coach Todd Howard is sure of it.
"You've got to be quick and sudden," Howard said. "Brigham, as the nose tackle, has it hard most of the time with a center and guard blocking him. Brian is one-on-one, but he has to be a little more sudden. At times, he thinks what you have to do too late. You have to be sudden."
chris.foster@latimes.com
