It’s been a decidedly interesting last year or so for Jaylen Coleman, but not even remotely the positive kind of interesting.
The Toledo linebacker missed the last half of the 2015 season with a broken leg. In late June, it was announced that Coleman was one of three Rocket football players who would be suspended for UT’s opener against Arkansas State for “violations of athletic department policies.”
Coleman, though, would’ve been eligible to return for the following weekend’s game against Fresno State... until he tore his Achilles tendon at practice earlier this week. As a result, not only will Coleman miss the ASU game because of the suspension, he’ll miss the remainder of the season, postseason included, as well.
As Coleman would’ve been a fifth-year senior this season, this likely marks the end of his collegiate career. It’s unclear, however, if Coleman, who took a redshirt as a true freshman in 2012, would be able to petition the NCAA for a sixth season.
This season it’s a significant loss for the Rockets’ defense as Coleman was the team’s leading tackler through the first six games before the injury knocked him out for the remainder of last year.
In addition to Coleman, first-year head coach Jason Candle confirmed that a pair of wide receivers, Andrew Davis and Neru N’Shaka, will be sidelined for all of 2016 because of ACL injuries. A sophomore, Davis caught two passes for 30 yards in 2015 while N’Shaka is a true freshman who was a three-star member of Candle’s first recruiting class.