Hop To It: High-Wire Huskies Show Off Their Hurdling Skills

Jonah Coleman went soaring against Northwestern, leaping over a defender who had his head down.

Jonah Coleman hurdles a Northwestern defender. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Against Northwestern, Jonah Coleman caught a little swing pass to the right side, ran away from a tackler and then turned Husky Stadium into a SeaTac runway.

The University of Washington running back pushed forward on the throttle, went airborne like a Boeing 737 and soared over the next guy to engage him, cornerback Evan Smith, treating him like some open tarmac.

Smith made the mistake of leading with his head down as he tried to bring down Coleman. The back made him pay with his overly athletic move, picking up another 10 yards before getting pushed out of bounds and leaving the crowd roaring during the Huskies' 24-5 victory this past Saturday.

Chill out, Jonah 🤯 @jonahcoleman8 pic.twitter.com/BMYFPZZmUJ

— Washington Football (@UW_Football) September 22, 2024

Husky coach Jedd Fisch could only shake his head, maybe wondering if he somehow was coaching the UW gymnastics team rather than its football empire. Double vault and dismount, anyone?

"This hurdling thing, I don't know where this started," Fisch said. "But I feel like it's been following me from Tucson to here."

Fisch told how at his previous stop at Arizona he had a tight end Tanner McLachlan, who's now an NFL rookie for the Cincinnati Bengals, hurdle opposing players any time he could.

Coleman took flight two weeks after UW wide receiver Giles Jackson catapulted over Eastern Michigan's Daiquan White with a startling show of hops in the third quarter of the Huskies' 30-9 victory. Yet Jackson's efforts provided just a 6-yard gain. He picked up a lot more in style points.

Giles Jackson leaps over Eastern Michigan's Daiquan White at Husky Stadium. / Skylar Lin Visuals

While all of this may seem somewhat new to Fisch, he's no doubt forgotten how UW tight end Jack Westover vaulted over his Arizona cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace in the third quarter of the Huskies' 49-39 victory in Seattle in 2022.

Westover caught a ball out in the flat, jumped over Roland-Wallace, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, and came up with a 26-yard gainer.

Jack Westover hurdles over Arizona's Christian Roland-Wallace in the 2022 game at Husky Stadium. / Skylar Lin Visuals

A couple of weeks before Westover's heroics, UW tight end Devin Culp put his own high-wire act on display in the Bay Area.

Late in the first quarter at California, Culp made what seemed like a routine catch for him, hauling in a ball that would become an 11-yard gain. Yet halfway through the play Culp suddenly went airborne over Bears defensive back Tyson McWilliams, showing incredible athleticism for a big man in the UW's 28-21 victory in Berkeley.

Devin Culp leaps over California cornerback Tyson McWilliams (11) in their 2022 game in Berkeley. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

This past Saturday, Coleman's recent football death-defying leap came on the last play of the third quarter and led to a 16-yard gain, putting the ball on the Northwestern 18. The junior running back scored three plays later, covering 8 yards to the end zone, keeping it on the ground.

While entertained by all of these players going leaps and bounds on game day, Fisch offered a word of caution to them.

"Tanner McLachlan was like the hurdler of all hurdlers and it was, 'What are we doing?' " the coach said. "Then Giles hurdles and Jonah hurdles. It must be something these guys do. They're so athletic, they're so athletic. I guess it's just one of those things.

"I just say, 'Protect yourself, man. Don't leave yourself so exposed.' "

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