Oswego’s Charles Coleman stars in national title game for North Central, two seasons after taking year off

Charles Coleman found himself at a crossroads two years ago, unsure of his next stop.

He just knew he wasn’t done with football.

The former Oswego standout running back, a 2019 graduate, spent three seasons out of high school at Minnesota State-Mankato – one on the field.

He left there in 2022 and entered the portal with a goal to play closer to home. Coleman didn’t find what he was looking for and took the 2022 season off.

Coleman sold LG TVs at Best Buy to put money in his pocket, while working out daily at Planet Fitness to stay in shape.

“Schools were offering things that didn’t fit my desire, took me too far from home, asking me to play defensive line and gain 40 pounds,” Coleman said. “I wanted to play ball and most important I knew I wanted to win. I wanted a winning culture.”

He indeed found it, just up the road from his hometown.

Coleman followed in the footsteps and followed the advice of another former Oswego standout and teammate, Julian Bell, in transferring to North Central College in Naperville, which has emerged as a Division III powerhouse in recent seasons.

On Sunday night, Coleman ran for a 66-yard touchdown in North Central’s 41-25 win over Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.

With it, North Central (15-0) completed a perfect season for the second time in three years and won its third NCAA Division III National Championship in five seasons.

“It feels great, just feels great,” Coleman said. “It’s something that me personally I’ve worked for for a long time. When I got to North Central that was my goal. To come up short last year and to finish it this year, it’s a great feeling. It feels like everything paid off and I can be at peace.”

Coleman’s 11th touchdown of his second season at North Central came at a critical moment and showcased the speed of the 6-foot-3, 216-pound junior.

With North Central facing third-and-1 at its 34 clinging to a 28-25 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals turned to their short-yardage specialist.

Coleman found daylight up the middle and ran away from the defense for the career-long 66-yard TD. He, and North Central, never looked back.

“Inside run play, power play, we weren’t expecting a blitz and they sent a blitz,” Coleman said. “As soon as I saw no safety over the top I thought I could be wide open, and it played out exactly that way. I had to trust my speed. Don’t look back, don’t make no cuts and it worked out. Credit to my O-line for making it happen.”

Coleman played in 13 games in 2023 in his first season at North Central and was fourth on the team and eighth in the CCIW with 628 rushing yards.

But being back in the game was an adjustment after a year away. Coleman had tried to simulate things as close as possible, but it was not the same.

“North Central is run like a D-I program from the weight room to the outside focus on making you a better man. It took me a while to get adjusted to the speed of the game, to my body waking up at 6 a.m.,” Coleman said. “After a while it’s muscle memory. Once I got that I knew the sky was the limit.”

Indeed, Coleman provided a talented addition to a backfield that this season was led by Joe Sacco and quarterback Luke Lehnen, who nearly joined Sacco as a 1,000-yard rusher.

Coleman was third at 582 yards and 11 TDs.

“We were very fortunate to have three backs that at any time could be starters most any place in Division III,” North Central offensive coordinator Eric Stuedemann said. “Chuck [Coleman] came in with Sean Allen who was at Illinois State, both are in their second year and they each had their own unique skill set. As coaches we tried to take advantage of that. Chuck, he has the ability to be a short-yardage back with his size and he has speed that is rare and adds a whole different dimension.”

Coleman’s high game came against Illinois Wesleyan Nov. 16 when he rushed for 98 yards and two TDs.

Even with the wealth of talent in the backfield, Stuedemann said that Coleman was a kid that the Cardinals' coaches knew they had to get the ball with his ability to run between the tackles and on the perimeter.

“We have put him at wide receiver, fullback-type, hide him all over the place. As big as he is, he is one of the fastest kids on our team,” Stuedemann said.

“He has got better from the time he stepped foot on campus, not only as a football player but as a student of the game. If there was a weakness that Chuck had it was running too high – he is 6-foot-3. You can see the difference now when he lowers the shoulder and runs behind the pads."

After losing the championship game in heartbreaking fashion, 38-37 to SUNY Cortland, Coleman said the focus this season was holding themselves to a standard.

It started first day of practice Aug. 5 and continued on through Jan. 5. And it didn’t matter to Coleman how many touches he received if it ended in winning.

“We reminded ourselves all the time ‘38-37,′ and we focused on pushing ourselves to the limit," Coleman said.

“I just kept telling myself that when my number was called it is time to go. I’m not a selfish guy. I was able to play football at a high level. I’m playing football for the love of the game, giving it my all. When my number was called in a national championship I was going to do anything, whether it was run the ball, get the block – anything."