By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN — The WVU football team had needs remaining on the 2021 roster and the coaching staff addressed one of those with the commitment of Hutchinson C.C. (Kan.) defensive back Caleb Coleman on Monday.
Coleman, at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, received an offer from the Mountaineers this month, and things only continued to develop over the past several weeks leading to his decision.
Co-defensive coordinator ShaDon Brown served as the lead recruiter for Coleman and the two were able to connect almost instantly, which only helped to further cement the Mountaineers’ place in his recruitment. WVU needed an additional defensive back and Coleman wanted the opportunity to showcase what he can do at the highest level of college football.
A native of Smiths Station, Ala., Coleman was a full qualifier out of high school that elected to sign with the Kansas junior college powerhouse in order to expand his recruiting options. Collecting 18 tackles and a pair of interceptions this spring drew the interest of many schools.
Because he was a full qualifier, Coleman will have five years to play four in his college career and is scheduled to arrive on campus in Morgantown to begin his career this summer.
Along with WVU, Coleman received offers from Washington State and Western Kentucky, and was able to take virtual visits to all of those programs before picking the Mountaineers.
Coleman is slated to play safety in the WVU defensive scheme, and the coaches were enamored not only with his size but his ability to cover in the back end and come up and hit in run support.
The junior college prospect becomes the fourth addition to the 2021 recruiting class since players signed in December with offensive lineman Doug Nester (Virginia Tech), linebacker Lance Dixon (Penn State) and cornerback Charles Woods (Illinois State) representing the others.
WVU still has two scholarships left from the 2021 class to fill in the coming months prior to the season, with the focus on positions such as linebacker, defensive back and defensive line.
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