De’Jon Coleman leads Arleta past Jefferson, 45-7

College football coaches get fired when they make repeated mistakes on evaluating high school talent. So who’s going to accept responsibility for not offering a scholarship to Arleta’s De’Jon Coleman?

It’s Week 8 of the prep season, and Coleman is shockingly still waiting for his first college offer. All he has done is score 36 touchdowns while using eye-popping speed and big-time elusiveness.

“He does things on the field that turn heads,” Coach Dan Kelley said.

I went to Arleta’s game against unbeaten Jefferson on Friday afternoon trying to be skeptical, but I left believing every word of what former Arleta coach Jeff Engilman said when he shouted, “Mark my words. He’s going to play somewhere on Saturdays.”

Jefferson, at 7-0, was supposed to offer a challenge to Coleman, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior running back. Coleman turned it into a mismatch, scoring touchdowns on runs of 73, 66 and 47 yards en route to 330 yards rushing. Arleta won, 45-7.

Coleman has 1,535 yards rushing, along with two interception returns for touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

And he’s only 16 years old, not turning 17 until next month. He has good grades and Arleta’s principal, Linda Calvo, says, “He’s a great kid.”

Coleman has been playing tackle football since he was 6.

“I love every single moment of the game,” he said.

He has gotten this far despite tough family issues. He said his father is unemployed, and Coleman desperately wants to get to college.

He has strength, benching 290 pounds and squatting 420 pounds. He starts at safety, returns punts and kickoffs. Now, if only a college recruiter can get past his size issue, which is apparently scarier than what he does to opponents.

“The unfortunate part about Division I coaches sometimes is they go off a computer list and if a kid is not 6-4 and 220 and run a 4.4 [40-yard dash], they’re not even going to recruit him,” Engilman said. “I think when some of these Division I schools get a chance to see him, they’re going to like him.”

Engilman knows something about college talent. He spent 17 years at Sylmar from 1987-2003, winning two City Section championships. He coached standout running backs Jerome Casey, Durell Price, Tyrone Crenshaw and C.J. Gable. He retired at the end of last season as coach at Arleta but comes out on occasion to watch the Mustangs.

“He’s better than Gable,” Engilman said. “He catches the ball and has great vision.”

An official joked with Coleman late in the game, “I’m faster than you.”

Coleman didn’t hesitate in his answer.

“Let’s race,” he said.

He’s willing to take on any and all challenges these days.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com twitter.com/LATSondheimer