The Washington Huskies have one of the best running backs in the nation in Jonah Coleman. Through five games in 2024, he hasn’t just been among the most productive runners in the country; he’s been among the most efficient.
The 5-foot-9, 230-pound junior has the most 10+ yard runs in the country with 21 and is tied for the most 10+ yard plays from scrimmage with 27. Yet the question begs, why hasn’t he received more than 18 touches in a game this season?
“We had to monitor his touches a little bit, just make sure we kept him fresh,” coach Jedd Fisch said after Friday’s game. “That was the right amount of touches for him. There was a drive or two where we had to pull him out to just get some treatment.”
That looked to be on his last touch at the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter, as he took a carry for 14 yards and looked bothered by something, as Fisch alluded to. But he doesn’t seem to have a lot of opportunities to close out drives and hasn’t gotten a significant amount of touches inside the 10-yard line.
Some of that seems to be Fisch’s plan for Coleman, who has taken over 20 touches just once in his career, when he got 26 in Arizona’s 43-41 loss at USC in 2023. It could also be due to Washington’s talented trio of running backs, which is rounded out by senior Cameron Davis and freshman Adam Mohammed.
“He’s battling, he’s physical. I thought he had a fantastic game. He was close to 10 yards a carry,” Fisch continued. “We also have a good stable of backs, and the backs ran well and ran hard today. We’re going to continue to evolve there.”
That evolution could include relying more on Coleman in the run-heavy Big Ten, especially close to the goal line.
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