Warren G. Harding High School’s rich tradition of sending athletes off to the next level goes back well before current senior Chaz Coleman was born. However, even with all of the great football that fans of the program have witnessed over the years, they’ve never seen an 6-foot-5, 230-pound athlete that shouldered the workload that he was given as he started at quarterback, linebacker/edge, punter, and even saw action at strong safety for the Raiders this season.
Highlight film of Warren G. Harding Chaz Coleman's senior football season.
Since receiving his first scholarship offer from the University of Akron on May 9, 2024, Coleman received offers from Ole Miss, Florida State, Penn State, Missouri, Illinois, Pitt, Michigan State, Kentucky, Purdue, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Hampton, Toledo, and Youngstown State University. On Sunday, November 10, 2024, Coleman gave his verbal commitment to Penn State. He’ll become the first Nittany Lion out of Harding since 1999 alum Deryck Toles, who went on to play linebacker in “Happy Valley” before a brief stint in the National Football League.
1999 Warren G. Harding alum Deryck Toles lays a vicious hit on Ohio State quarterback Criag Krenzel during Penn State's matchup against Ohio State on 11/02/2003.
When Matt Richardson was named Harding’s new head football coach on January 13, 2024, he knew that there was something special about Coleman’s potential. When a guy who has coached up two recipients of the USA Today’ National Offensive Player of the Year Award in ‘02 Harding alum Maurice Clarett and ‘23 Archbishop Hoban alum Lamar Sperling to go along with a plethora of other elite athletes, “Matty Rich” knows a thing or two about bringing the best out of young men on the gridiron.
"He can do it all on the field,” Richardson told 247Sports analyst Allen Trieu about Coleman in an interview earlier this year. “If he had been training as a quarterback since the 6th grade like others, he would be getting recruited as a quarterback. A lot of schools see him as an athletic end who can do different things as well as a wildcat quarterback. I see him as an EDGE. ... That's my opinion and people who make more money than me like him as a tight end, but athletically, he can do anything."
“Anything” is exactly what Coleman did in 2024 as he finished the season with the following stats lines…
-Passing: 62-of-98 for 749 yards, 10 touchdowns, & 5 interceptions
-Rushing: 154 carries for 751 yards & 7 touchdowns
-Receiving: 4 catches for 89 yards & 2 touchdowns
-Defense: 7 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, & 2 touchdowns
-Punting: 36 punts for 1,253 yards (34.8 YPP) w/ a long of 57 yards
Coleman finished his high school career ranked inside Harding’s all-time top 10 in the following categories…
-7th: total touchdowns in a season… 21 in 2024
-7th: total touchdowns in a career… 36 from 2023-24
-9th: passing yards in a game…252 against Boardman on 09/29/2023
-10th: passing yards in a career…1,535 from 2023-24
-NOTE: Coleman joined Lynn Bowden (2015-16) & Dalys Jett (2021-22) as the only players in Harding history to pass & rush for over 1,000 yards in their careers.
However, despite Coleman’s offensive feats as a Raider, Penn State intends on bringing Coleman in as an edge rusher just as Richardson predicted. Many fans would agree with that decision as they’ve given Coleman very high praise for his abilities on defense. Especially one in particular.
“I’ve been around for a very long time and I always thought that (the late) Jimmie Browner from Warren Western Reserve was the best defensive player to ever come out of the city,” said longtime Harding supporter Jim Fell. “Now, I think that Chaz is in that conversation. I’ve never seen anybody cover as much ground as he does.”