101 Days of BC Football: Johnathan Coleman, #14

At the start of his Boston College career, wide receiver Johnathan Coleman was well-known amongst Eagles fans for his improbable rise to college football. Coleman lived a hard life as a youth and became an inspirational figure to children in tough situations, that they can aspire to be something special. It wasn’t long after that he also became known for his play on the field.

During the 2010 season, his redshirt freshman year, Coleman had 14 catches in 12 games for 260 yards. He didn’t catch any touchdowns, but he had a few nice appearances that year which made us believe he’d be someone to watch for the next few seasons. Being 6-4 and showing some athleticism, it was a justified line of thought.

Unfortunately, his role diminished quite a bit in 2011, and being candid, last year was certainly not the best he’s done on the Heights. Coleman got into ten games, recorded a catch in half of them, and caught just five passes the whole year for only 55 yards. Not surprisingly, he’s still looking for the first touchdown reception of his BC career.

What does the future, specifically 2012, hold for Coleman? For starters, he is listed as a second-string wide receiver on the spring depth chart behind Alex Amidon. We also know that he did not participate in every scrimmage this spring, missing at least one prior to the Jay McGillis game. One would hope that he’s ready to go when the season begins, but will he see footballs coming his way? With a new offensive coordinator, that’s hard to know for certain, but one would expect as much. He’s a big target for Chase Rettig, that much I know, but it’s hard to see him eclipsing top receivers Swigert, Amidon, and Larmond.

Coleman appears to have natural talent which is still as yet undeveloped, and last year, we did not get the most out of him that we could have. He’s coming into his junior year now, so hopefully he can get on-track and make the most of the opportunities that he’ll be afforded in the months to come.