At least in the Texas football sphere, no story this offseason was more important than the recruitment of Cam Coleman.
When the former five-star decided to leave Auburn after two seasons and hit the portal, a line going out the building of hopeful suitors emerged in hopes of drawing the elite talent into their building.
At 6’3″, Coleman has made fans accustomed to super-human catches and dazzling displays of athleticism in his time at Auburn, but with a head coaching shift and limited production, it made sense for him to look towards a program like the University of Texas.
It wasn’t easy for the Longhorns, battling the likes of Alabama, USC, Texas Tech and Texas A&M for the commitment of Coleman, but as the dust settled, the Longhorns ended up on top for the star pass catcher.
Since then, the story has run dry. What else is there to talk about? He’s now in Austin, and outside of an anecdote or two about Ryan Wingo influencing his recruitment, it’s been as simple as ‘we’ll wait to hear what Sark has to say.’
Well, that time has come.
When Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian approached the stand on Monday morning, it came to no ones surprise that Coleman was one of the first players asked about.
Sarkisian first addressed exactly what the Coleman recruitment was like, and how familiar he was with the lanky wideout.
“I think at the end of the day, Cam has been a fabulous addition so far,” Sarkisian said. “What I knew of Cam Coleman early on was watching Auburn film when I was getting ready to play Oklahoma when they’re on the tape. I mean, this guy’s really good. This number eight is really good.”
“When when he went into the portal, it was like, Okay, this is probably going to be a priority for a lot of teams around the country. What type of individual is this guy? You start making your calls, and you’re calling people that have coached him and coached against him, and we never played Auburn, so I didn’t get a chance to see him in person. Then you start getting on a phone call, and then you get onto a FaceTime and a zoom, and then you get them on your campus.
It was a process for Sarkisian from the start, as he had very little familiarity with the wide receiver outside of word of mouth and cross scouting. After the strenuous process of actually getting his target onto campus, it’s clear that Sarkisian is ecstatic with his pursuit and addition of the new WR.
“And the biggest thing that came out of it, for me was what an awesome individual. This kid is an awesome kid, and he hasn’t disappointed since he’s arrived.”
High praise for a player not brought up in Sarkisian’s culture or system.
He would then go on to note that fellow starting WRs, Emmett Mosly and Ryan Wingo, have been recovering from injuries, which has put Coleman ahead in workouts and development. What impressed Sarkisian is that seeing his fellow starters on the sidelines never negatively influenced Coleman’s work ethic since he arrived.
“For a guy of his caliber, he can say, well, those two guys aren’t working today. Maybe I’ll take a step back, and maybe I don’t need to work today. It’s been the total opposite. This guy’s going for it, and he came here with real intentions and a real reason of understanding he wants to compete for a national championship and he wants to put himself in the best position to get ready for the NFL. And he came to a pro style offense for a reason.”
Sarkisian continues to be impressed that Coleman understands his spot must be earned, and that working alongside younger players benefits everyone involved. He mentioned how interwoven an offensive system is, and that if Coleman is doing his job, it frees up other WRs to make plays.
And if those WRs make plays, the running backs are able to run free.
And if the RBs are able to run free, then the offensive line has a much easier job. It’s something that Coleman understands and is working to make a reality.
“The understanding that he had, of all of that, I think, was probably the most impressive thing to go along with the individual that this guy is. He’s an awesome individual. And I look forward to y’all getting to spend some time with him, because I think you’ll be very impressed.”
It’s extremely high praise from the man in charge, but it’s not the most surprising.
Texas fans wanted to hear good things about their star transfer, and they got just that. Coleman will be one of the most entertaining players to watch in this upcoming season, and the potential catalyst for a vastly improved Texas offense.