Shon Coleman has not had your average football career. If things had gone his way, he would have started his career at Auburn in the fall of 2010. In an alternate universe, Shon Coleman earned a National Championship ring that year and rubbed elbows with Cam Newton.
Instead, Coleman was diagnosed with acute lymphocyte leukemia in the spring of 2010 and never made it to Auburn that fall. Coleman’s type of cancer, in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, affected 1 in 415 males younger than 49 years old from 2010-2012. Over 3,500 cases are expected this year alone.
Coleman spent the fall of 2010 in Memphis instead of Auburn. For two-and-a-half years he received treatment at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. He was finally cleared to play for Auburn in 2012, but he redshirted that season to take the time to get back into football shape. He officially joined the Tigers as a backup left tackle in 2013. The first day back with the full team was a special day for Coleman.
“It was great, man just being out there again with my teammates, just getting back in that football atmosphere,” he said. “I’ll never forget that day, very exciting.”
The 6’6, 307-pound offensive tackle took the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time on September 7, 2013 against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Auburn easily won that game 38-9. That year, Gus Malzahn’s first as Auburn’s head coach, the Tigers went all the way to Pasadena for the final BCS National Championship, where they lost to Florida State.
Over the next two seasons, Coleman started 25 games for the Tigers, and in 2015 he was voted second team All-SEC. He completed his bachelor’s degree in May 2014 and his master’s in December 2015. Although he still had one final year of eligibility, Coleman decided to shoot for the NFL.
Unfortunately a torn ACL prevented him from participating in the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine, and Auburn’s pro day.
“It was something I was looking forward to, I really believe I’m one of the more athletic big men out here and for me not to be able to show that it’s very frustrating,” Coleman said. “But at the same time I have a plan to come back and get everything ready.”
Even without getting to show off, his talent and success at Auburn made Coleman attractive to many scouts. SB Nation ranked him as the 8th best player at his position and the 69th overall prospect for the Draft.
The Cleveland Browns picked Coleman in the third round of the NFL Draft (76th overall) last week, making Shon’s NFL dream a reality.
Shon celebrated by spending the day with cancer patients at St. Jude’s. He wanted to show the kids battling cancer that they can win their fight and be successful.
“It was big-time for me to go back and reach out to kids and let kids see that moment,” he said. “That’s big in their lives, and to just let them know that they can always chase their dreams.”
Now Coleman faces a new challenge: to get in NFL-shape and fight to be a starter for the Cleveland Browns. But Shon knows that his experiences have given him the drive to overcome any obstacle.
“It has taught me to be patient and whatever opportunity gets thrown my way, take it and run with it,” he explained. “That’s what I did last year. I had the opportunity to come in and be a great player at Auburn, and I took it upon myself to work every day, to work at this and work at that just to perfect my crafts.”
