East Carolina freshman sustains fractured fibula from accidental slide tackle by ref

One of the most unfortunate injuries of the college football season arrived Saturday during East Carolina's game against Temple.

Following a play in the second quarter, an official slipped and fell directly into the legs of East Carolina defensive back David Coleman Jr. The freshman had to be helped off the field with no weight on his right leg.

The official appeared to be trying to run through a group of ECU players and took a route around Coleman, but Coleman didn't see him and accidentally moved into his path. The ref didn't appear hurt on the play and immediately checked to see if Coleman was OK.

East Carolina went on to beat Temple 17-9. After the game, ECU head coach Blake Harrell revealed to reporters that an X-ray showed a fractured fibula for Coleman. He also affirmed the injury was an accident, while noting some larger issues with the officiating during the game:

"DC Coleman was taking the field there in the first half after a kick return. The official was coming down, making sure two guys heard the whistle, make sure they separated because sometimes those guys don't hear the whistle. "As he's coming down, he slips, falls into DC Coleman. DC got an X-ray at halftime, fractured his fibula there. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. That's just one of those things, kind of wild it happens. I've never seen that from an official — a few things happen in the ballgame that I've never seen — and unfortunate for DC."

"DC Coleman was taking the field there in the first half after a kick return. The official was coming down, making sure two guys heard the whistle, make sure they separated because sometimes those guys don't hear the whistle.

"As he's coming down, he slips, falls into DC Coleman. DC got an X-ray at halftime, fractured his fibula there. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. That's just one of those things, kind of wild it happens. I've never seen that from an official — a few things happen in the ballgame that I've never seen — and unfortunate for DC."

Coleman is a true freshman and was rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals . The Georgia native was ranked among the higher players in the Pirates' Class of 2026 . Per ECU's website , the Temple game was his fourth appearance of the season.