Lamar Football Adds Iowa Transfer Coleman

BEAUMONT -- Lamar University football coach Ray Woodard announced that former Beaumont West Brook standout Jacody Coleman has transferred to Lamar and will play on the team in the fall. 

Coleman spent the last two seasons at the University of Iowa where he appeared in 22 games with three career starts as a middle linebacker. He made 52 tackles, including 15 solos, and collected six for loss. He made a career-high six at Penn State in 2007 as a freshman. 

Coleman finished the 2008 season 12th on the team with 28 tackles, the most among any reserve on the Hawkeye's defensive unit. He appeared in all 13 games with starts against Maine and Florida International. In 2007 as a freshman, he played in nine contests and totaled 24 stops. His first career start came against 19th-ranked Illinois as he made five tackles with four solos. 

"We're excited about having (Jacody) return home be part of the Lamar family," Woodard said. "I am looking for him to have an immediate impact on our program. He brings a lot of intensity along with his experience and it's always good to have a local product return home." 

Coleman was a finalist for the Willie Ray Smith Award after earning District 21-5A MVP honors. He recorded 265 career tackles, 22 sacks and two blocked kicks as a Bruin. He also earned three letters in power lifting, three in track and two in basketball. 

Coleman is the second Division I Football Bowl Subdivision player to transfer to Lamar this summer. In early June, Billy Chavis, who played with Coleman at West Brook, also announced he was enrolling at Lamar after two seasons at Texas A&M. 

Lamar is the only Division I football program in Southeast Texas and will be returning to the football field this fall after dropping its football program after the 1989 season. The Cardinals will start playing games in the fall 2010 when they open at archrival McNeese State on Sept. 4, 2010.