Interest heating up for Peabody LB Jaylen Coleman
by Wade Perry
Posted April 19, 2011 12:39 am
One of the top linebacker prospects in the 2012 recruiting class is inside linebacker Jaylen Coleman.
Coleman, a 6’1, 220 pound linebacker, hails from Peabody High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The talented linebacker currently has offers from Pitt, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo.
As a junior, Coleman put up gaudy statistics for Peabody High School, racking up 124 total tackles, 90 solo tackles, and one interception on the defensive side of the ball.
He also totes the mail at the running back position and racked up 800 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground there as well.
He figures to be one of the more highly recruited players in the Keystone State this fall.
FinestPreps.com caught up with Coleman to talk about the college football recruitment process.
FinestPreps.com Interview with Peabody LB Jaylen Coleman
FinestPreps.com: Talk about the college football recruitment process for you and how that’s going.
Jaylen Coleman: “Everything is going real good. As soon as you get that first offer, they all start pouring in right now.”
FinestPreps.com: What teams are interested in you the most Jaylen?
Jaylen Coleman: “I’ve got two boxes (of mail). Wisconsin, Connecticut, Nebraska, Toledo, North Carolina State, Memphis, Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Michigan State, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Iowa, Temple, and Syracuse.”
FinestPreps.com: Out of all of those teams Jaylen are there any favorites? Are there any teams that really standout to you?
Jaylen Coleman: “Oh yeah. It’s Wisconsin and West Virginia. Pitt is number one.”
FinestPreps.com: Tell me what you like about the Pitt Panthers.
Jaylen Coleman: “The Panthers–just everything, the coaching staff loves me. Everytime I talk to one of the coaches–especially the linebacker coach–Coach Patterson–I feel like I’m talking to one of my high school coaches. I feel like I’m family. They treat you like family. They treat you like they want you to be there.”
FinestPreps.com: Tell me what you like about Wisconsin and West Virginia as well, Jaylen.
Jaylen Coleman: “Well Wisconsin–Joe Rudolph–he’s a cool dude. Mannasseh Garner, he’s a little older than me. He goes there and he’s from Pittsburgh. He always tells me how the campus is and everything. Their football team is really great. They run a pro-style defense. They run a 4-3 style defense. That’s me.”
FinestPreps.com: Talk about the West Virginia Mountaineers and what you like about them, Jaylen.
Jaylen Coleman: I like their coach, Coach Casteel is their defensive coordinator. They’re good. Even though their defense is kind of weird, they’re just a good team overall.”
FinestPreps.com: Jaylen, when do you think you’ll make a decision in the college football recruitment process?
Jaylen Coleman: “Probably the end of my senior year or middle of it.”
FinestPreps.com: What do you think is the biggest thing you need to improve on heading into next year?
Jaylen Coleman: “In football–my coverage skills. I have pretty good cover skills but there’s always room for improvement.”
Keep it locked to FinestPreps.com for more on Coleman’s college football recruitment process!
Check out his video highlights below courtesy of FinestPreps.com!