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Ben Coleman, like most children, was persistently impatient when he was younger.
“My dad always told me that when I was little, I was very impatient about everything,” Coleman said. “No matter what it was, my dad always talked about patience, patience, patience. And it bugged me.
“But I think as I got older, it really helped.”
Coleman’s father, also named Ben, knows about patience. Ben Sr. was a second-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993, being selected No. 32 overall. Over a nine-season period, he played 135 games in the NFL with Arizona, Jacksonville, San Diego and Washington — starting 104 of them.
Now his son, a graduate student working on his second master’s degree, is one of the anchors of Arizona State’s offensive line. Coleman, entering his seventh year in college football, decided to come back for his final year of eligibility. He missed the 2023 season when he tore his Achilles.
The patience he was taught by his father paid off in his recovery from the Achilles injury.
“I’ve had the circumstances I’ve had,” Coleman said. “I think it’s turned into a blessing…I wanted to rush to the recovery. I came back from my Achilles, felt great. I wanted to rush, I wanted to play. All those things. But I wasn’t quite ready. It went back to when I was a kid. Just patience, patience, patience.”
Coleman, a transfer from California, immediately became one of the most reliable players on the offensive line last season after missing 646 days. He was sixth among all FBS players with just four pressures credited by Pro Football Focus. Coleman’s 1.2 pressure allowed percentage on 325 pass block snaps was 17th in the FBS.
Most importantly, Coleman was not credited with allowing a sack last season. His 89.6 pass blocking grade is sixth among all FBS players and fourth among guards.
But now Coleman is making a position switch to the nucleus of the offensive line unit.
Coleman is taking over for Leif Fautanu, who exhausted his eligibility at center. Fautanu was a durable and steady force, tallying 3,329 snaps during his college career. Fautanu and Coleman have talked about what the position requires, and Coleman got some work at center at the end of the season.
It’s not the first time Coleman has made the switch. He briefly did so at Cal, playing one year of spring ball at center.
He's building a rapport with redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt as the two work on their exchanges. Coleman was still on the Bill Kajikawa Field well after the first day of spring practice ended on Tuesday, working on his snapping. Coleman was one of the last players to leave the field.
“He’s got the experience, athletic ability,” offensive line coach Saga Tuitele said about Coleman. “He’s learning. Playing center, even though it’s only one hot dog away from guard, it’s still a whole different position.”
Tuitele said the most difficult part of the transition is the recall involved. Centers are expected to call out the protection scheme for the entire offensive line, identify blitzers, remember the cadence from the quarterback, block the player or players in front of them, all while snapping the ball.
There may even be a time in a game where a center has to remember something they saw years ago on film.
“Mentally, he’s good,” Tuitele said. “Ben is locked in.”
Fautanu had a lot of experience at the position, but Tuitele thinks Coleman has more power than Fautanu.
Coleman is trying to make the most out of his final year in a Sun Devil uniform. There will be no next season in Tempe.
“You have one year left,” Coleman said. “A lot of people regret it, a lot of people feel like they shouldn’t have left, that they wish they had another year. I didn’t want to be that guy. I wanted to be able to say that I finished. I did all I could in my time. I think there’s a lot of meat on the bone for myself, and for my teammates.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football breaking in new player at key position
Continue reading...
“My dad always told me that when I was little, I was very impatient about everything,” Coleman said. “No matter what it was, my dad always talked about patience, patience, patience. And it bugged me.
“But I think as I got older, it really helped.”
Coleman’s father, also named Ben, knows about patience. Ben Sr. was a second-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993, being selected No. 32 overall. Over a nine-season period, he played 135 games in the NFL with Arizona, Jacksonville, San Diego and Washington — starting 104 of them.
Now his son, a graduate student working on his second master’s degree, is one of the anchors of Arizona State’s offensive line. Coleman, entering his seventh year in college football, decided to come back for his final year of eligibility. He missed the 2023 season when he tore his Achilles.
The patience he was taught by his father paid off in his recovery from the Achilles injury.
“I’ve had the circumstances I’ve had,” Coleman said. “I think it’s turned into a blessing…I wanted to rush to the recovery. I came back from my Achilles, felt great. I wanted to rush, I wanted to play. All those things. But I wasn’t quite ready. It went back to when I was a kid. Just patience, patience, patience.”
Coleman, a transfer from California, immediately became one of the most reliable players on the offensive line last season after missing 646 days. He was sixth among all FBS players with just four pressures credited by Pro Football Focus. Coleman’s 1.2 pressure allowed percentage on 325 pass block snaps was 17th in the FBS.
Most importantly, Coleman was not credited with allowing a sack last season. His 89.6 pass blocking grade is sixth among all FBS players and fourth among guards.
But now Coleman is making a position switch to the nucleus of the offensive line unit.
Coleman is taking over for Leif Fautanu, who exhausted his eligibility at center. Fautanu was a durable and steady force, tallying 3,329 snaps during his college career. Fautanu and Coleman have talked about what the position requires, and Coleman got some work at center at the end of the season.
It’s not the first time Coleman has made the switch. He briefly did so at Cal, playing one year of spring ball at center.
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He's building a rapport with redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt as the two work on their exchanges. Coleman was still on the Bill Kajikawa Field well after the first day of spring practice ended on Tuesday, working on his snapping. Coleman was one of the last players to leave the field.
“He’s got the experience, athletic ability,” offensive line coach Saga Tuitele said about Coleman. “He’s learning. Playing center, even though it’s only one hot dog away from guard, it’s still a whole different position.”
Tuitele said the most difficult part of the transition is the recall involved. Centers are expected to call out the protection scheme for the entire offensive line, identify blitzers, remember the cadence from the quarterback, block the player or players in front of them, all while snapping the ball.
There may even be a time in a game where a center has to remember something they saw years ago on film.
“Mentally, he’s good,” Tuitele said. “Ben is locked in.”
Fautanu had a lot of experience at the position, but Tuitele thinks Coleman has more power than Fautanu.
Coleman is trying to make the most out of his final year in a Sun Devil uniform. There will be no next season in Tempe.
“You have one year left,” Coleman said. “A lot of people regret it, a lot of people feel like they shouldn’t have left, that they wish they had another year. I didn’t want to be that guy. I wanted to be able to say that I finished. I did all I could in my time. I think there’s a lot of meat on the bone for myself, and for my teammates.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football breaking in new player at key position
Continue reading...
