Cam Coleman shares lesson he’s learned on adversity at Auburn

It’s been a difficult 2024 season on The Plains for the Auburn Tigers football team. However, there have been several bright spots too, including the play of freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman.

For Coleman personally, there’s been plenty of lessons learned in his first season at Auburn. In particular, he’s found new ways to approach and deal with adversity.

“The biggest thing I learned about myself is how I handle adversity,” Cam Coleman said. “Because things don’t always go as planned, but it’s the way you respond. I had a couple of injuries — I had a shoulder injury. I bounced back from it. I’m 100 percent now. It was a little setback, but it’s just about how I responded.”

Earlier in the season, Cam Coleman missed some time with a shoulder injury. That was not an insignificant setback in his first season of college football while he was still adjusting to the college game, and, in September, head coach Hugh Freeze even admitted that it was impacting his performance in games he was able to play in.

The injury represented some individual adversity for Coleman while Auburn’s on-field struggles, going just 2-5 overall and 0-4 in SEC play to this point, has offered another form of adversity. Still, there’s plenty that Coleman believes he can learn from that and apply to every aspect of his own life.

“The things that we’re learning right now we could apply it to real life situations as well,” Coleman said. “Not to quit, finish strong, not to quit, and really just more than football, for real, we apply it to our everyday life.”

A Phenix City, Alabama native, Cam Coleman came to Auburn as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2024, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the fourth-ranked player nationally in that recruiting cycle. Coleman played his high school football for the Central Red Devils in Phenix City.

This season, Coleman has 10 receptions for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been explosive as well, averaging 25.9 yards per reception. That’s come in five games played this season.

In their next game, the Auburn Tigers are set to travel to the Kentucky Wildcats. That’s a game that Cam Coleman will look to take another step forward in against one of the best passing defenses in the SEC as the Wildcats are only giving up 178.9 yards per game through the air.