Husky Roster Review: Jonah Coleman Is UW's Mr. Dependable

While blockers often didn't block, and tacklers missed too many tackles, and the starting quarterback lost his job with two games to go in the season, Jonah Coleman was one of the handful of University of Washington football players who were dependable for every single game in 2024.

The running back was a physical player when others, including the coach, questioned the physicality of those Huskies.

Coleman's 1,053-yard rushing season always will be considered a modern-day marvel, considering he did it with a patchwork offensive line in which only one player -- right tackle Drew Azzopardi -- started all 13 games and another -- Landen Hatchett -- had to start at all three interior positions to make things work.

The running back welcomed and took such a pounding the Huskies sat him out of the second half of games late in the season that got out of hand in order to give him a chance to recuperate.

And yet here's Coleman, in purple jersey No. 1, back for more.

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

For the Spring Game, Coleman was on a definite pitch count. He drew five carries and turned them into 54 yards rushing, with runs of 19 and 22 going around each end. Yet there is much more to this 5-foot-9, 223-pound senior than simply slamming into or running past would-be defenders.

Promising a festive night, the Huskies turned over a place-kicking opportunity to their adventuresome back, and he not only booted the extra point true, he further entertained the Husky Stadium gathering by doing his trademark back flip, full pads and all.

"Jonah's a blast, man," Fisch said. "I've probably seen him do everthing in the last four years."

With a more fortified offensive line that returns Azzopardi and Hatchett, the Huskies would now like to see Coleman rewarded with something in the range of a 1,500-yard rushing season and a high NFL draft pick.

His resculpted and refreshed body says pro football all over it. His attitude for relentlessly playing at a high level no matter the circumstances around him should be attractive to NFL scouts. Already he's showing up on a list of top 10 running back prospects, listed only in alphabetical order.