Fullback from Fullerton is a Bruin

UCLA added another running back to its 2008 class, Derrick Coleman of Fullerton. He is a big and powerful athlete, weighing in at 223 lbs on a 6'0 frame. Scout clocked him at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, which is pretty quick for a guy of his size.

Derrick finished his junior season with 2,340 yards rushing on 220 carries with a whopping 37 touchdowns. He averaged 180 yards a game and 10.6 yards a carry. He managed all of that while splitting the running back duties. This year, he will be the primary ball carrier for Troy.

As a junior at Fullerton Troy, Coleman was the Freeway League MVP, the CIF-SS Division Player of the Year on Offense and was a second team all-Orange County selection. Also a second-team all-state selection.

In an interview with Scout's Western recruiting analyst Brian Huffman, Derrick described the recruiting process before the Bruins offered.

“Almost everyone contacted me from the Pac-10, or came to my school, and so did Boise State,” said Coleman. “USC came, with Pete Carroll himself, UCLA, Oregon State, Utah State, Boise State, Oregon and Washington State, and those are just who I’m remembering.”

Derrick had this to say about his speed and development, “My best time is a 4.53, which I think is good with my size,” said Coleman. “I’m pretty quick on my feet. I still have a whole other year of ball to play and I’m getting stronger and faster.”

Coleman probably will line up at UCLA as a fullback, which is a position he has played at Troy. Though Coleman thinks he could also take on the tailback role as well.

“Since we run the Wing-T, I’m a fullback, but I guess you’d consider me a halfback,” said Coleman. “I could play tailback and I could be that 25-30 carry a game guy.”

Here is a highlight video of Derrick in action. (You'll need to have the latest version of QuickTime to view it)

Derrick is the 17th player to commit to UCLA this year. The Bruins will probably take somewhere around 8 to 10 more commits in this class.

(photo credit: scout.com)