This time from the Des Moines Register:

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. ... 003/SPORTS

Thanks! Great article. Here is the text for the guys using dialup.

Coleman returns to run at Kinnick
By ANDREW LOGUE
Register Staff Writer


August 28, 2006



The mountains gave Greg Coleman an escape route. The forest offered him solitude. And the rivers led to a new beginning.

Now the embattled Montana running back is returning to Iowa City.

"I just want to go out there and have a lot of fun," Coleman said of Saturday's season-opening football game between the Grizzlies and Hawkeyes. "All the people who have supported me over the years, I really want to show them something."

An expected sellout crowd of 70,585 at Kinnick Stadium will watch Coleman try to shed his image as a talented but troubled ball carrier.

As a prep star for Iowa City West, Coleman's scholarship offers dwindled after he pleaded guilty in 2003 to committing interference with official acts causing injury and assault on a peace officer.

His career as an Iowa State fullback unraveled last winter after another assault charge, stemming from an incident at an Ames bar.

Cyclone coaches suspended Coleman, then reinstated him after charges were dismissed.

Sill, Coleman felt out of place.

"I'm not saying Iowa City was a bad place, or Ames," Coleman said. "But a lot of things that went on with me in high school just kind of followed me through college - a lot of prejudgments."

Coleman, a 6-foot, 238-pound junior, considered transferring to Northern Iowa, but wondered if his reputation would catch up with him in Cedar Falls.

Iowa State assistant Tony Alford, a longtime friend of Grizzlies coach Bobby Hauck, helped facilitate Coleman's move to Missoula, Mont.

"I just think he liked what we had going on here," Hauck said. "I think he liked the university and the town."

The Rocky Mountain scenery provided Coleman with a diversion.

Before summer practices began, Coleman spent time boating and hiking. Next on his to-do list: fly fishing.

"Out here, I just kind of get to be free and be myself," Coleman said. "Not have these things lingering over me."

Coleman says he takes responsibility for his actions on June 5, 2003, when Iowa City police responded shortly after midnight to reports of a possible fight. Coleman fled the scene and ended up in a struggle with officers.

"I took a lot of heat for it," Coleman said. "I ended up losing scholarships that I would have had."

Once recruited by Michigan, Coleman eventually chose Iowa State.

He was the Cyclones' second-leading rusher last season - gaining 419 yards on 116 carries - but his time in Ames was cut short after another off-field incident.

Coleman and former Iowa State teammate Durrell Williams were arrested last February in connection with an early-morning altercation at a local bar. Coleman, who turned 21 in April, also was ticketed for being in a club while underage.

"I think the press got hold of the situation before (police) could resolve it, and it ended up with me looking like a bad guy, even though I really didn't do anything," Coleman said. "They dropped the charges like three days later, but it was already in the papers and all over the news that I assaulted some guy, and it was really vice versa."

Montana's Hauck gave Coleman a clean slate. Lex Hilliard, a two-time all-Big Sky Conference tailback, became Coleman's mentor.

"He kind of took me under his wing," Coleman said. "He's like my best friend out here."

Hilliard was expected to spearhead Montana's quest for a third NCAA Division I-AA title, but he suffered an Achilles tendon injury during summer workouts.

Coleman became the starter.

"It's just horrible what happened to (Hilliard) because everyone loves him so much," Coleman said. "I just kind of stick to myself now. It's all football-focused and school. I'm just trying to graduate and be successful in life."

The prodigal fullback welcomes the chance to tackle his past.

"I actually didn't even know that we played Iowa until I got out here and looked at the schedule," Coleman said. "This is going to be great, and my whole family is going to be there. Even the people who have doubted me, I want to show them something."