Staff photo / Greg Macafee Warren G. Harding junior defensive back Airiz Coleman-Bey matches up on an offensive player during a recent practice at Warren G. Harding High School. Coleman-Bey will figure into the secondary for the Raiders this season.

WARREN — Airiz Coleman Bey is a trailblazer of sorts.

A two-sport athlete at Warren G. Harding with a sky-high GPA, Coleman Bey is doing something few — if any — Raider football players before him have.

Coleman Bey, who has earned a 4.7 GPA in his three years at Harding, announced Wednesday his verbal commitment to Brown University, a member of the vaunted Ivy League.

“The decision-making process was really a no-brainer to me,” Coleman Bey said. “A lot of other schools talked to me. … It’s an Ivy League school, and you don’t really get those opportunities.”

Coleman Bey received an offer from Capital University earlier this month and said he had discussions with other schools, including Rice University, but felt that Brown was the right place for him to continue his academic and athletic career.

Coleman Bey will play both football and baseball at Brown; the 5-foot-10-inch athlete could play just about anywhere on the football field in the fall — he caught 17 passes for 165 yards and returned a kickoff for a 72-yard touchdown in the season opener as a junior — and will likely be roaming center field in the spring.

But Coleman Bey admits sports are likely just a temporary source of joy.

“Good grades have always been important to me because it’s really hard getting to the NFL or making it after college, and I want to succeed in life other than just sports,” Coleman Bey said. “I want to be able to have a backup plan, and I believe having a good education — that’s going to lead you to having a good backup plan, a good life, regardless if sports work out or not.”

Coleman Bey said both of his parents, but especially his father, have pushed him to dedicate himself to his education.

“He never wanted me to fall short,” Coleman Bey said. “He was always on me every single day about my grades.”

It has not been easy maintaining a 4.7 GPA, though.

“It’s really hard,” Coleman Bey said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but you gotta learn time management skills and be organized so that everything falls in place. You can balance everything out.”

At Brown, Coleman Bey intends to major in pediatrics and minor in psychology.

“I was always good with kids, and I’ve always wanted to help kids and do something for people,” Coleman Bey said.

He has already begun trying to help children. Coleman Bey participated in the Inspiring Minds, an after-school youth program in Warren, last year and throughout the school year.

Coleman Bey said he hopes that by attending Brown he can inspire others to eventually follow in his footsteps.

“I believe I can motivate the young people coming up,” he said. “I feel like I’m a good role model, on or off the field, for those kids.”

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