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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2009 > August > 30
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Most Compelling Buckeye
Kurt Coleman does a lot of reading:
— A senior safety and a captain of the Ohio State football team, the Northmont High product reads opposing quarterbacks’ eyes and intentions so well that he’s one of just 31 players in the nation on the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the best defensive back in college football.
— He, like the rest of the Buckeye seniors — per OSU coach Jim Tressel’s request — just finished reading “The Lone Survivor,” a true account by a Navy SEAL that showcases in heart-wrenching fashion both American heroism and Afghan humanity.
— He spent the offseason visiting grade schools in the Miami Valley and Columbus where — among other things — he read Dr. Seuss books to the kids.
— After an E-mail message from his dad — longtime area coach and school administrator, Ron Coleman, who suggested he give his bible the same attention he gives his cell phone — Kurt said he reads scripture daily.
He even sports a tattoo — John 8:12 — which begins: “I am the light of the world….”
And Kurt has gone out of his way to shed that light to others, be it at the Dayton VA Hospital on West Third or to other players on his OSU team.
Among other things, he’s president of the OSU chapter of Uplifting Athletes, a group that uses college football players to raise funds and awareness for rare diseases. He recently ran a video game tournament at a local restaurant to raise funds for the neurological disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.
Because of such involvements, he’s been nominated for the Allstate/ American Football Coaches Association “Good Works Team,” which honors athletes who give to others “through selfless contributions and commendable acts of kindness.”
That was especially evident last Christmas Eve when — accompanied by Buck teammates Jake Ballard from Springboro and Wayne High’s Donnie Evege — he reached out to a Phillipsburg teenager when he needed it most.
Talk about reading the moment, Coleman could not have done it better.
That story — and several others — turned into my column for today’s newspaper. It also can be found up above here on the Web page.
I can tell you this, the more you get to know about Kurt Coleman, the more you realize he is one of the most compelling players in all of college football this season.
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