Davon Coleman ‘ready to step up’ for ASU
Sep 21, 2011, 3:22 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm
His head coach says he’s got a bright future. Well, the future is now.
Sophomore defensive end Davon (day-VON) Coleman is expected to move into the starting lineup Saturday night when ASU hosts USC in the Sun Devils’ first-ever PAC-12 game.
Coleman, a junior college transfer, will replace Junior Onyeali, who is scheduled to undergo knee surgery Thursday and may be lost for the season. “Feeling good, ready to step up to the plate (and) take care of my responsibilities,” Coleman said after practice Tuesday.
Against Illinois, Coleman — pressed into early duty after Onyeali got hurt — registered seven tackles plus a half sack.
“Kind of felt like that’s the kind of level that he could play at,” said head coach Dennis Erickson. “For him, it’s a junior college player that hasn’t played at this level. He’ll get better and better all the time. Really in the last two football games he’s played extremely well for us.”
Coleman is tied with safety Clint Floyd for the sixth-most tackles on the team. He’s performed that well despite still making mistakes. “That’s the difference between being good and great. I’ve really been focused on learning my assignments.”
More will be asked of Coleman now in light of the injury to Onyeali, the conference’s freshman of the year last season. “That’s just football,” stated Coleman. “The next player’s got to be ready.”
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