featured photo – Luke Martin, Statesboro Herald
One of the frostiest players in the lower classifications is Portal’s Elijah Coleman. Over the years, the senior playmaker has been a frequent flyer on our top 10 plays of the week, and once again, he made it after last week’s amazing scramble for a touchdown.
The senior dropped back and immediately had the defensive rush in his face. He sauntered back, reversed field, opossumed the defense with a few fakes and then before you knew it, Coleman was around a cluster of defenders. Coleman split the 2nd level of the defense as ran back towards the right sideline. He sprinted the final 30 yards balancing down the sideline, completing one of the best runs of the 2023 season.
We have come to expect plays like this from the Portal senior. Coleman has been a dynamic playmaker for the program and when the ball is in his hands, something crazy can happen.
“My senior year so far has been great, I’m with a great group of guys I’ve been with since my freshmen year and all the hard work and dedication finally paying off looking forward to making a playoff run,” he said.
No doubt, Portal is one of the more talented teams in Class A DII. Down the stretch, they have several big matchups up ahead that will dictate whether they make the playoffs or not.
“My goal is to lead my team to the playoffs and just have fun and enjoy playing the game of football.”
Coleman has a sandlot-like play style reacting to the defense instinctually, always looking to keep the play alive. That has been the hallmark of his play style during his HS career, but here in 2023, the senior has tried to hone his talents.
“I have improved at trusting my offensive line more staying in the pocket delivering throws, being a leader on the field and off the field.”
Coleman holds offers from Wofford, Shorter and the most recently coming at the end of September from UVA-Wise. On top of his offers, Coleman is hearing from Auburn, Troy, Virginia, Georgia Southern, UAB, Coastal Carolina, Virginia Tech, and more.
There is an obvious intrigue in Coleman’s ability to playmake on the fly. In just 6 games, the senior has 439 rushing yards and 8 scores on top of 552 passing yards and another 5 scores. Just to prove his versatility, the senior even has 101 receiving yards and another score. You cannot forget about the defensive side of the football either where Coleman has incredible instincts and is one of the bigger hitters you can find at corner.
As of now, Coleman’s only visit this fall has been to Auburn from this past weekend where they played UGA. He doesn’t have anything else planned right now, but that should change, so be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia to hear the latest recruiting news on the senior and athletes everywhere in Georgia.
