Former Jets Player Speaks With Walt Whitman HS Football Team

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Erik Coleman, a former New York Jets player turned SportsNet New York (SNY) analyst, recently visited the Walt Whitman High School varsity football team to share his experiences as a high school football player who went on to play in college and eventually the NFL, the South Huntington School District announced.

After the team worked out in the weight room on Sept. 10, they gathered in the forum to talk football and ask questions.

After playing college ball at Washington State, Coleman was drafted by the Jets in 2004. The safety then moved on to play for the Atlanta Falcons in 2008, and finished his career with the Detroit Lions in the 2011-2012 football season.

He is now part of the on-air SNY team using his on-field experience to provide sports analysis on several of the network’s shows including "Jets Post Game Live!" and "Jets Nation."

Now Coleman is happy to pay it forward to younger generations of football players.

"I think it's important for kids to be able to see someone who was once in their shoes," Coleman said in a news release. "Because I'm no different than they are. I grew up with the same obstacles they did, but I was able to be blessed and stay healthy and be focused and have the right breaks to make it as a professional athlete."

Walt Whitman varsity football coach Robin Rosa said it's invaluable for his players to hear from someone who's been where they are.

"He’s someone who's gone through it and it wasn't an easy path for him to get to the NFL," Rosa said. "But it’s not only about the NFL. It's about life. He talks about the academic part and how it wasn't a perfect life for him growing up. His mother was not present, so his grandmother was a big part of his support. He talks about how at every step of his life, there was someone there for him."

Both Rosa and Coleman acknowledge that while a lot of the players are hoping to one day go on to play college ball and aspire to a career in the NFL, that won’t be the reality for some of them. It’s for that reason that Coleman’s main message for the high school players is to enjoy the moment.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself," Coleman said. "When I think back to my best years of football, it was right here in high school. It was literally the most fun I ever had playing football, and those friends that I made playing high school football are still friends to this day. It’s something I don't want them to take for granted."

Rosa understands that love of football. He’s played since high school, and as Whitman’s coach, he was named a New York Jets Coach of the Week, Suffolk County Football Coach of the Year, Rutgers Trophy winner, Newsday’s Suffolk County Coach of the Year, and National Football Foundation Coach of the Year — all in 2021 when the Wildcats won the Suffolk County title for the first time.

While winning on the field is the primary goal of any team, Rosa said he and his coaches want their players to learn to be successful in life.

"I might have these guys for two hours a day during practice, but in those two hours, we hope that we make some kind of impression," Rosa said. "Some of these young men don't always have role models. I hire coaches who are role models. They're teachers. They're almost like parent figures. That's why when you get a guy like Eric Coleman coming to talk, I think another voice is important."

After sharing his story of how nervous he was waiting until the fifth round of the NFL draft to finally be picked by the Jets, Coleman encouraged the students to put a ton of energy toward their football goals but to put that same energy into everything else.

"Discipline, making the right decisions, it all carries over," Coleman said. "And the principles and the characteristics that you attain playing football — the accountability, the hard work, the dedication, the studying, the competitiveness — all of that translates into the real world. It just keeps giving back to me."

Rosa said he hopes his team finds some inspiration in Coleman’s story, but admits "it might not hit everyone. But if you change five lives, then, yeah, we did good."