Coleman could be one of Auburn’s best ever

By Robert Rousseau  |   Wednesday, January 14, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

Auburn Tigers
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We know two things for sure regarding the 2009 version of the Auburn Tigers. First, star defensive end Antonio Coleman will play for the club, having recently announced that he would pass on this year's NFL draft. Second, it's known that new Tigers head coach Gene Chizik can be convincing.

"After coach (Tommy Tuberville) got fired, that pushed a button in my head and I was leaning toward coming out," Coleman said earlier at a press conference at his alma mater, Williamson High School. "I talked to coach Chizik again a couple of days ago and I believed every word out of his mouth. I want to be one of the guys that turns it back around at Auburn."

According to Coleman, the NFL Advisory Committee had him pegged in the second or third round if he were to come out this year. Thus, it’s a good move for him to stay. After all, Auburn fans know that Coleman is much better than being a third-rounder.

In fact, he has the chance to be one of the best defensive players to ever suit up for the Tigers, not to mention one of their top pass rushers of all time.

After a solid redshirt freshman season in 2006 that saw Coleman amass 15 tackles as Quentin Groves’ backup, he broke out in 2007 in a big way.

In fact, Coleman logged 38 tackles and 8.5 sacks during a season in which he didn’t even start in six of the games. And though Coleman battled injuries this past season, he still totaled 46 tackles, six sacks, 10.5 tackles for a loss, and 13 quarterback hurries.

The bottom line is that Coleman rushes the passer like few are capable of. Forget 40 times and the rest of the measurables. When Coleman comes after the quarterback, he does so with rare ferocity and speed. Proof: Right now he needs 11.5 sacks to tie the Auburn career record. And if he were to start every game and stay healthy in '09, he just might break that record.

It seems fitting that one of the greatest Auburn players ever, Tracy Rocker, will be Coleman's coach this season.

In 2009, Coleman will have a chance to help right the Auburn ship and cement his place in the program's lore. In Coleman's mind, that's better than the '09 draft; can you blame him?
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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