Falcons’ Tevin Coleman shows his strength through enduring premature birth, sickle cell trait
HOUSTON — Almost four years ago, the Indiana Hoosiers had a football team-bonding event in which players went head-to-head in a good old battle of tug of war. And even on a team with bulky linemen and ox-strong linebackers, Tevin Coleman was a player that either side would have been happy to have, pound-for-pound, maybe the strongest player on the roster — a then 21-year-old who had set the school record by cleaning 365 pounds and set a running backs record with a 405-pound bench press.
But during the event, Coleman collapsed. He was dehydrated, which was part of the problem, but the news that his father had delivered in high school — that Tevin carried his sickle cell trait — hit him at that moment.
“Yeah, it was a scary moment,” Coleman said Tuesday. “It was not good. I really didn’t know what was going on because I was not educated about it at that point.”
Coleman was disoriented and knew from that point, he had to learn more about the trait and what it meant for his body. It slowed him down a few more times during his IU career, including being forced to leave an upset win against Missouri that season in which he stumbled to the sideline because of the extreme heat that day and his physical exertion causing him problems.
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Sickle cell trait is not the same as anemia. Typically, athletes with the trait — it occurs in somewhere around 1 in 15 African-American males — are more prone to issues with exertion in extreme heat or at high altitudes. Coleman has learned since that year that he has to manage his situation, but it hasn’t slowed him down since.
The Atlanta Falcons used a third-round pick on him in 2015, and now that he has overcome injury and fumbling problems from his rookie season, Coleman makes up half of perhaps the NFL’s best rushing duo, along with Devonta Freeman. The Falcons ranked fifth in the NFL in team rushing at more than 120 yards per game, and the duo has a brilliant combination of size, speed, toughness, quickness and receiving ability to keep defenses on their toes.
“Devonta, he has the feet. I have the speed,” Coleman said.
Yes, they share carries, but they don’t fight for them — or so they’ve both said this week.
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“We have such a great bond,” Coleman said. “There’s never frustration there. We just feed off each other. If he does well, I want to do well too.
“If he makes a big play, he [comes to the sideline and says], ‘Go get you one, bro.’”
For Coleman, this is fun. If it means sharing carries with another running back, so be it. After being born 10 weeks premature — spending two months in an incubator and given a 20 percent chance to live at birth — Coleman feels blessed to be here. Since he was a kid, his family called him “Rock” for how tough he is and how much he has endured.
“I pray every day and am thankful I am healthy, even with a little thing here or there,” he said. “I could be gone, and I obviously am glad I’m not. And I believe this has given me my strength.”
That thing, clearly, is the sickle cell trait that rears its head now and then. When the Falcons traveled to face the Denver Broncos, Coleman considered sitting out the game because of the altitude. But he played, and was a huge factor in the Falcons’ 23-16 win against the Broncos that first put Atlanta on the map this season, as few teams had done to that defense what the Falcons did. Coleman was a massive figure in that one, catching four passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, and adding 31 more on the ground.
“I’m glad I played that day,” he said with a smile. “I just drank more water all week and listened to my body all the way through the game.”
Since then, Coleman’s role has remained steady in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, flexing out more as a receiver and presenting a unique challenge for defenses on how to stop their two-headed monster. And with Freeman, who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent, in the offseason, it could be Coleman’s show very soon down the road, especially with Freeman’s agent making some not-so-subtle contract demands this week.
But Coleman has his eyes on the New England Patriots and Super Bowl Sunday, where he finally could notch his greatest team achievement after failing to make a bowl game in his four years at Indiana.
“This is it,” he said, “this is what I’ve lived for.”
And lived through quite a bit to get to this point.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
