Huskies' Jonah Coleman: Once Scoop or Two?

The discussion centered around how big the University of Washington running backs had become for the coming college football season, with each ball carrier showing off bulging biceps and extra thick thighs.

Scottie Graham, the new Husky running backs coach, is one reason for this bigger-is-better mentality in the backfield in Montlake. A high achiever himself as a player, he was a three-year starting tailback for Ohio State before playing six seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. He's seen it all, done it all, and he passes that along.

"We like big dudes. we're in the Big Ten -- they call it big for a reason," Graham said. "You can't get arm-tackled. Big guys for me are important because a 2-yard run becomes a 4-yard run, if they've got good body lean and if they run though with some power. Big guys make a big difference. Jonah is short but he's big."

That's Jonah as in Coleman, the UW's projected starting running back and someone who carries a well-proportioned 229 pounds on a 5-foot-9, custom described in a way only the loquacious Graham can dream up.

"Lot of ice cream on that cone," Graham said impishly.

Coleman became the flavor of the month for Arizona by signing with Graham and Jedd Fisch's staff when the Wildcats were suffering through a 1-11 rebuilding season, drawn to Tucson by the promise of everything turning around with those coaches, plus having a chance to start as a freshman and become a high-quality back.

Ironically, the first game-opening assignment of his college career came during his freshman season in 2022 against the UW in Seattle, in a 49-39 loss to the Huskies. It was a Coleman performance that Graham is quick to tell graded out to 98 percent.