The most impressive play from Washington’s spring game was not the one you think.
It wasn’t freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright’s contorting touchdown catch. It wasn’t the dual interceptions from UW defensive backs CJ Christian and Elias Johnson. It wasn’t senior running back Jonah Coleman’s successful extra point, followed by a back flip endorsed by smiling Husky coach Jedd Fisch.
“Jonah can do anything,” Fisch said after the gold team’s 20-12 win Friday at Husky Stadium. “Jonah’s a blast, man. I’ve seen him do probably everything at different times in the last four years — back flips, which he wanted to show off tonight, kicking. I’ve seen him do that. How about him running down on that interception and making the tackle and trying to knock the ball out?”
Bullseye.
The most impressive play was the one he never had to make.
With 12 seconds left in the second quarter, backup quarterback Kai Horton took a shotgun snap and floated a pass into the edge of the end zone. Christian undercut the route for an easy interception before accelerating into open space.
Christian maneuvered around Coleman — who was being blocked by linebacker Taariq “Buddah” Al-Uqdah — at the 19-yard line, then sprinted untouched along the right sideline. But as he passed midfield and cut back toward green grass, a 228-pound boulder gradually closed the gap.
Reminder: Christian is listed at 6 feet 1 and 205 pounds. Coleman is 5-9, 228.
The measurables didn’t matter.
Even with a significant head start, Coleman chased Christian down.
After being blocked by Al-Uqdah, UW’s standout running back set off on a 46-yard sprint before diving to swipe out Christian’s legs at the 35-yard line. The senior safety tumbled at the 30, then called his defense over for an orchestrated “Boys in the Boat” rowing celebration in the west end zone.
It would have been a 96-yard pick-six, if not for No. 1.
Granted, this wasn’t Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf iconically corralling Cardinals safety Budda Baker after a 93-yard sprint in 2020. Nor was it Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo — whom the Seahawks drafted in the third round this spring — racing 80 yards across the field to catch Virginia Tech linebacker Kaleb Spencer in 2024. It was nothing so athletically impressive.
But in some ways, it was better.
Because this wasn’t a “Monday Night Football” showdown for NFC West supremacy. It wasn’t a prime-time ACC opener in a near-sold-out stadium. It was a free-to-attend scrimmage on a May Friday in Seattle, with an invented scoring system and two randomly drafted teams. It was a silly spectacle that included Coleman and edge Isaiah Ward attempting to kick extra points. It was a “football game” in the loosest possible sense, sandwiching a corgi race at halftime.
Coleman — arguably UW’s most proven player and a cemented starter — could have let Christian score and no one would have noticed.
Running backs coach Scottie Graham told me why he didn’t more than a year ago.
“For him, you’re the guy now. That comes with different expectations,” Graham said on April 24, 2024. “That’s been the biggest change. Now you’re wearing No. 1. You’ve got to be a guy that’s borderline perfect. You wanted to wear the number, now here’s the expectations. He’s lived up to all of that.”
Added Coleman minutes later: “Whoever wants to be here will be here. Whoever don’t … the portal’s open.”
Since following Fisch to Washington, Coleman has been a living embodiment of the culture his coach would like to cultivate. He rushed for 1,053 yards, 5.5 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns in 2024, while pursuing an education degree and earning dean’s list honors. He trimmed his body fat from 16.8% to 14.2% in winter conditioning. Fisch added Friday that “he was our special teams player of the spring.”
How often do you hear that about a team’s senior starting running back?
Don’t let the back flips fool you.
In so many ways/plays, Coleman makes it clear he wants to be here. He’s willing to work.
These are the examples programs are built upon.
“It’s a team that loves to compete,” Fisch said of Coleman’s effort play. “They know that’s the way we play. That’s the standard.
“That (running back) room is one of the rooms that’s truly a standard of our program. You watch that room, and they do things right. Coach Graham has a very high standard in there, and the expectation is if you can go chase down a guy, you go chase down a guy. If you can go make a play on special teams, you go make a play on special teams. That’s how you earn the right to play running back here.”
None of which means the Huskies’ problems are suddenly solved. After going 6-7 in Fisch’s debut, UW is attempting to upgrade its physicality on both lines of scrimmage. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. must also produce in his first season as the full-time starter, while UW searches for Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala’s successors at linebacker as well. It takes more than a competitive culture to slay Ohio State.
But ideally, you’d like your best players to be your hardest workers.
Coleman may be both.
As Fisch said, Jonah can do anything. It’s the things he doesn’t have to do, but chooses to, that just might matter most.
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