The Heart of the Knights: How Vashaun Coulon Became St. Augustine’s Field General

by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

St. Augustine coach Robert Valdez vividly remembers the first time he laid eyes on Vashaun Coulon.

Valdez was six weeks into his new position as the latest designated savior of Purple Knights football and the former Grambling offensive line coach was searching for a quarterback.

So there sat Valdez and his freshly-minted offensive coordinator, John-Paul Pierce, inside the Karr High School gymnasium stands in Algiers watching the Purple Knights junior varsity basketball team take on the host Cougars.

Pierce, a former Grambling and Brother Martin quarterback, who additionally doubles as St. Augustine’s quarterbacks coach, leaned over to point out Coulon. “Coach, that’s Vashaun Coulon,’’ Pierce told Valdez. “He’s a pretty talented kid.’’

“That little guy?’’ Valdez shot back incredulously. “Oh, my God!’’ Valdez exclaimed.

“And I told (Pierce) just like this, ‘Man, this is 5A, big boy ball,’’ Valdez said this week. “‘That kid may be a little bit too small.’ So that was my first impression coming from the college ranks (at Grambling) where we’ve got 6-foot-5 quarterbacks.’’

So much for first impressions.

Fast forward to the present where Valdez now has come to appreciate the error in the initial assessment of his 5-foot-11, 160-pound protege.

Coulon, to his credit given that he still was a sophomore at the time, ignored all misgivings, put his nose to the grindstone, and set to work during the ensuing four months to earn Valdez and the coaching staff’s trust and support.

Coulon would arrive early for daily 6:30 a.m. quarterbacks meetings and sometimes even beat Valdez to the New Orleans’ Seventh Ward school despite having to commute across the Mississippi River from the West Bank. In offseason workouts and weight-lifting, Coulon instinctively made it a point to be at the front of the line.

When baseball season arrived, Coulon reached an agreement with Valdez and St. Augustine baseball coach Barret Rey to sacrifice his sophomore season in order to learn the football playbook and gain a grasp of the new system in preparation for spring football practice.

Always grinding, always on point, always leading by example and effort, Coulon was not going to be denied. By spring practice he was entrenched as QB1 and the clear-cut leader of a football team that currently is undefeated in-state and ranked No. 7 in Class 5A by geauxpreps.com with a 3-1 overall record. The Knights were 4-8 in 2023.

“Eventually Vashaun started growing on me,’’ Valdez now says unequivocally. “The thing about him was he was never overbearing. Vashaun would just show up every day and he had a focus about him. There was an attention of detail about him. And when he started coming (to meetings), he was very punctual, very prepared. To this day, we meet every morning at 6:30 in the morning. He beats me here sometimes.’’

Coulon, again, to his credit, refuses to beat his own drum, insisting he simply is one of many key pieces in the unfolding Purple Knights puzzle.

“I feel like (being a leader) just comes to me naturally,’’ Coulon said. “Being able to want to win (is one thing), I know what it takes to win. Coach Valdez really preaches that to us. So this is one of the roles that plays into us winning.’’

In workouts, Coulon said, “I was always trying to be first. When we were in the weight room, I was always trying to put the most weight on the bar even though I’m not the biggest. Just being able to push myself, Coach Valdez saw me pushing myself to be the best I can and I guess I just won him over with my effort.’’

For the record, Coulon bench presses a respectable 205 pounds while squatting 345. His real strengths, though, revolve around his passing and decision-making in addition to the ability to connect with teammates and lead from the front of the line.

As field general of St. Augustine’s Spread-I attack, Coulon focuses on keeping the offense on a consistent and even keel while distributing the football to a plethora of play-makers.

A pro-style passer, Coulon has held his own as a play-maker, more than making up for his height by completing 49 of 70 passes (70 percent) good for 968 yards and 13 touchdowns while being intercepted once. Coulon also has rushed 10 times for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Collectively, Coulon is averaging 267 yards running and passing in the first four starts of his varsity career while accounting for 4 touchdowns a game. Coulon is averaging 242 passing yards and more than three scoring passes per game.

St. Augustine, 3-1, has beaten McDonogh 35, 49-7, Cecilia, 58-34, on the road and last week Warren Easton, 42-19, in the Purple Knights’ District 9-5A Catholic League opener. McDonogh 35 and Cecilia were state-ranked at the time.

St. Augustine quarterback Vashaun Coulon (No. 1) is no small reason for the state-ranked Purple Knights’ ascent into Class 5A power status following a 4-8 season in 2023. Coulon is averaging 267 yards with his running and passing while accounting for 16 touchdowns in four games. Coulon has completed 49 of 70 passes (70 percent) good for 968 yards and 13 touchdowns while being intercepted just once. Coulon has rushed 10 times for 100 yards and 3 TDs.

The Knights’ lone loss came in week three in a 36-20 loss to perennial national powerhouse Cardinal Ritter College Prep of St. Louis played at City Park’s Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans. Though out-manned, the Purple Knights were not out-classed.

Coulon and the Knights then rebounded mightily against Easton which was making its Catholic League debut after spending a decade-plus as a Class 4A power. Coulon passed for four touchdowns while running for a fifth. He completed 18 of 22 passes for 286 yards without being intercepted and rushed 8 times for 27 yards with a 14-yard scoring run.

In St. Aug’s 58-34 road victory at state-ranked Cecilia in a game both programs arranged in mid-week due to the arrival of Hurricane Francine, Coulon was brilliant passing for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing 5 times for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Coulon completed 12 of 15 passes.

“I feel like I’m able to really create,’’ Coulon said. “I feel like I’m able to create opportunities for my teammates to show their talents and get them the ball. I feel like I do a great job of commanding the offense, being able to tell everybody what they have to do and in which place if they need it, of course. But most of the guys are on top of their game.

“I feel like just being able to keep the team’s composure is the biggest part to me (to contribute).’’

His head coach wholeheartedly agreed.

“His teammates respect him,’’ Valdez said of Coulon. “He’s not a vocal, hype leader. He’s just an everyday present, in-your-face type of guy that’s going to be here every day and do everything we need him to do.’’

Which includes directing a run-first offense predicated on pounding the football.

“I make no (apologies) and I tell my guys, we want to run the ball,’’ said Valdez, who owns a state championship-winning pedigree along with a career won-loss record of 128-42-0 (a .753 winning percentage) in 17 seasons as a head coach at East St. John, West St. John, McKinley, Scotlandville, St. James and now St. Augustine.

“We are intentional about wanting to run the ball. But, then again, when opportunities come our way and we have matchups and we have things that we feel are there, we do what’s best to score and move the ball. Vashaun has been able to navigate through that pretty well.’’

Coulon’s appointment as the starter actually occurred fairly quickly.

“It really happened right before spring in workouts, in our pre-spring workouts, the way he carried himself and the way he was going full speed and doing all of the drills and our workouts and just being punctual,’’ Valdez said.

“Then the thing that I don’t think he understands is how people gravitate to him, how members of the team gravitate to him. So it started becoming evident that we were in a situation that this guy can handle it. He can handle what we’re throwing at him and he can do the things that need to be done.’’

St. Augustine quarterback Vashaun Coulon (No. 1) has directed the Purple Knights to a No. 7 state ranking in Class 5A from geauxpreps.com.

It additionally did not hurt having the paradoxical relationship between Pierce, a 20-something former quarterback, and Valdez, a 50-year-old, former standout offensive lineman at O. Perry Walker and Southern, operating in the background.

“It’s a little bit different dichotomy,’’ Valdez said before breaking into a chuckle. “Our offensive coordinator, Coach John-Paul Pierce, he’s (from) what I call the generation of artificial intelligence version of me. I’m old school, 1957 Chevy. John-Paul is a Tesla Model X.

“With Vashaun having to navigate between a very smart and young coach who has a lot of ideas and a very rigid head coach that wants to streamline and do things a certain way with a meticulous attention to details, Vashaun has done a very, very good job of navigating and understanding that.

“We (all) have a great relationship, but (Vashaun) has understood how to meet the head coach’s needs and the offensive coordinator’s needs and we’ve gelled together. We’ve all gelled together.’’

Bonding by the Purple Knights across the board has been vital as Valdez continues his mission to re-set a once elite program that went 0-6 in Catholic League play last season in addition to having lost eighth consecutive games against district opponents counting losses in the playoffs.

Not that there have not been bumps.

Five-star defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, the consensus top recruit for 2026, abruptly resigned from the school in the week leading up to the season opener against McDonogh 35 after practicing that Labor Day Monday. Stewart and his family were seeking to move up his graduation class to 2025, Valdez said, but St. Augustine could not accommodate those wishes academically.

Stewart subsequently transferred to Karr in Algiers where he also learned that he cannot accelerate his graduation, leaving the junior standout to sit out this season and be eligible to play at Karr in 2025.

“Jahkeem is definitely a great player,’’ Coulon said. “I’m not too sure of the situation. Coach Valdez kept us out of that. We (the players) stayed out of that. But with him leaving, we just pushed ourselves more. Being that we lost a player, somebody had to step up. It’s always next man up. St. Aug has a lot of kids here on the team, so just being able to step up and go harder (has been the players’ response).’’

“I think the biggest thing about our guys is (them) just being able to adjust and compete and stay focused,’’ Valdez said.

Coulon, Valdez said, has played a significant role in helping produce a calming effect.

“We have a very good relationship,’’ Valdez said of him and his QB1. “There’s a tremendous amount of respect there on both sides. I want my quarterbacks, I want my guys to be clear-cut leaders. That position there, I think when you look across the board, successful programs have clear-cut leaders in that position.’’

The additional good news for the Purple Knights is that there has been no shortage of contributors.

Undersized junior center John Brunious (5-foot-9, 215 pounds), to use Valdez’s vernacular, has emerged as an “unsung hero’’ in anchoring the offensive line. Senior running back Liondell Caston (5-9, 155) is proving to be “a home run hitter’’ among skill players.

And then, of course, there’s Coulon.

St. Augustine quarterback Vashaun Coulon

“There’s something about this place that it’s always had big guys, but our smaller guys are the ones that are carrying the mantle right now,’’ Valdez said. “(Some) other guys have gotten most of the limelight. But those smaller-stature guys have played big for us. They’ve been very, very big for us. Offensively, they’ve been big for us.’’

Defensively, Valdez said, “It’s really by committee. We’re trying to play defense by committee, so it’s kind of hard to pinpoint just one (standout), especially after we have (had) what I believe is a deduction (Stewart) that basically was an addition to our team. I think we’ve become a team. We’re no longer focused on an individual.

“But, defensively, we’re still trying to find ourselves and still trying to create an identity. We’ve got a group of guys who are really, really working hard toward us doing that. We’re playing more and more of a team ball type of game. They all kind of are equally contributing, so it’s hard to identify one or two (standouts).’’

St. Augustine is also undergoing a monumental upgrade in facilities with the construction of a new locker room and weight room along with installing artificial turf on the school practice field all underway. Temporary facilities have been set up in the Knights’ schoolyard, but none of the inconveniences have allowed to be a distraction.

“One of the big things is really not on the stat line,’’ Valdez said. “I think our young men have handled all of the pivoting and transitioning we’ve had to do with our growth. We have some facility improvements like to our practice field. Which we have to catch a bus and (drive) to (practice at) Pontchartrain Park, which is familiar ground for St. Augustine, which is where they practiced for many years.

“We’re dealing with a lot of locker room things because we’re going to have facility improvements coming here pretty soon. We work out, we call it Muscle Beach because we work outside (in the schoolyard). We’re lifting the higher weights with the elements. So when it rains, we can’t lift.

“But I think our guys, our coaches, and our players have really persevered and adjusted and adapted to every circumstance and situation that has been thrown our way.

Which leads to the football field.

“What we’re trying to do (there) is, we’re trying to do the little things well and then build on it. I think we started out with simplicity and trying just to put the basics in and do basic things.’’

Make no mistake, momentum is building.

“I’m excited, very excited because of our growth,’’ Valdez said. “Coming into this job, I knew there was potential. We’re still early in the season, but I think our student-athletes have embraced the culture, the work ethic, and the attention to detail of the things we’re trying to do.

“I always say, we’re still a work in progress, but I think that just day by day we strive to get a little bit better and so far so good. We’re going to be tested severely in this district, but I think we’re off to a good start.’’

Coulon has emerged as the bell cow despite being buried on the depth chart last season as a 10th-grader.

“Vashaun’s been a quarterback all along,’’ Valdez said. “He was QB seven or six last year. He started a couple of games. I felt that he should have started last year. I think that he had the skill set to start last year. When I watched the film, I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. I don’t know exactly the factors as to why he wasn’t (the starter). But I think he brings some tremendous skill sets and we’re grateful for where we’re at.’’

Tied for first place in District 9-5A at 1-0 with state-ranked Karr and Rummel and unranked Jesuit, the Purple Knights now are pointed toward the Catholic League grinder awaiting that begins with this Saturday’s 7 p.m. class against Karr at City Park’s Tad Gormley Stadium.

Karr (3-0 overall, 1-0 in 9-5A) is ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 5A both by geauxpreps.com and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association state poll. St. Augustine is No. 9 in the LSWA state poll two spots behind No. 7 Rummel (4-0, 1-0) and one place ahead of No. 10 John Curtis (1-2, 0-1). Rummel and Curtis are ranked Nos. 8 and 9 respectively by the LSWA.

“This is the Persian Empire invading the Spartans,’’ Valdez said, borrowing a page from the movie, “300.’’ “King Xerxes’s army will come in here (to Tad Gormley) with their undeniable force and tremendous power and we’re going to line up and we’re going to valiantly fight to the death to defend the glory of St. Augustine.’’

St. Augustine coach Robert Valdez

That hyperbole aside, St. Augustine’s challenge is formidable. The Knights face a veteran Karr team defeated that the Big Purple, 27-16, last season while going on to win a second consecutive Catholic League crown. Karr was a four-time state champion at the Class 4A level prior to moving up in classification and being placed in the Catholic League.

“I’m pleasantly surprised and the main reason why I’m pleasantly surprised is because we have a relatively young team,’’ Valdez said of his team’s immediate results. “We have a young guys that are playing. We have a lot of first-year starters that are playing.

“I’m not surprised, though, because of the culture that’s in the (school) building and I knew that coming in. But in terms of us being able to put it together and be able to put a decent product on the field, I’m very surprised because I knew the competition that we would be playing. I knew the teams we were going to be playing. I knew where we were going to be at.

“But these guys continue to show up every Monday. We continue to try to put together elements of success. I didn’t imagine (this success) coming in year one. I didn’t know any of these guys and some of them didn’t know me. Just being able to work together and put some things in place to be able to have some success right now is pretty amazing to me.’’

In that regard, Coulon has served as the supreme pied piper. Not that those contributions have spared him from Valdez’s sometimes acerbic tongue.

“He has what I call a pop-gun (arm),’’ Valdez said semi-tongue in cheek when asked about Coulon’s skills. “He still has to develop his arm strength. He’s got a little bit of a 22-shooter there. Sometimes I tell him, ‘Don’t be sitting up there trying to show off that little 22-gauge pop gun you’ve got. Just make sure you take what (the defenses) give you.’’’

Another Valdez jewel aimed at keeping his quarterback grounded goes like this: “He’s about as fast as the offensive line, which is not really that fast (said chuckling).’’

“That’s psychological motivation,’’ Valdez adds through a chuckle.

But St. Augustine’s coach is equally quick to seriously discuss the overwhelming positives Coulon brings to the table.

“He’s a pure pocket quarterback,’’ Valdez said. “He’s going to beat you with his arm. He’s going to do all of the things to make sure that everybody understands what they’re doing. He just has grasp and command of what we’re trying to do.

“We don’t really ask him to do too much with his feet. He gets away every once in a while and it’s nice to be like a little kid in a sandbox and play around, but that’s not what we ask him to do.

“So I think he finds himself trying to prove me wrong and I love it. Because I just sit back and when he does some really good things like he threw an open-field comeback (pass) last week, I just put my hand down and say he better complete it because if not he has to come see me on the sideline.

“He threw an interception against (McDonogh) ’35 (in the opener which is his lone interception) and he walked all the way across the field not to make eye contact with me.’’

“Coach Valdez likes to joke a lot,’’ said Coulon, who lists listening to music, occasionally playing video games, and sewing, yes, sewing, among his off-the-field interests. “I definitely think I can make any throw on the field. I think he does, too. He doesn’t limit me. He doesn’t limit me in throwing any routes and any balls. He feels like I can make every throw. So he trusts in me.’’

“I actually know how to sew, stitching by hand,’’ Coulon added. “If your pants are too loose or too long, I can make them shorter to where your size is supposed to be at.’’

Coulon did not come to St. Augustine to become a tailor, however, when he enrolled as an 8th-grader, coming to 2600 A.P. Tureaud Avenue from St. Cletus Catholic School in Gretna.

“Just the culture of it all, really,’’ was the attraction, Coulon said. “Being able to see so many people who come from here who are successful inspired me.’’

Nothing has transpired to change that opinion of his school and the football team he leads.

“I like our passion about the game,’’ Coulon said. “We all want to win. Everybody is here showing up. We’re giving everything we got every day. I think we can make it all the way, personally.

“I feel like if we just keep continuing to develop and learn from our mistakes – we have a lot of work to do, of course – but I feel like if we stay together and just stay believing in each other that we can accomplish anything we want.’’