Michigan State Football: Mel Tucker raving about Keon Coleman’s “freakish” athleticism

All aboard the Keon Coleman bandwagon.

When Michigan State football was recruiting him in the 2021 class, it seemed almost like a long shot for the Spartans to land him even leading up to National Signing Day.

In fact, the trend was implying that he would stay close to home and pick Tulane. It was kind of a shocking development because he’s a Power Five talent, but it made sense because of its proximity to home and the fact that he’d probably start right away for both the football and basketball programs.

An athlete this physically gifted wants to see the field and the court right away and he had plans of playing both football and basketball at the next level.

That would have been tough to do at Michigan State.

But in a sudden change of events and shift of momentum, the Spartans gained ground and landed the four-star receiver and wing from Louisiana. Both Mel Tucker and Tom Izzo had to be jumping for joy when this happened and it seems like the returns have been immediate for the former.

According to Dave Revsine of the Big Ten Network who made a pitstop in East Lansing for his preseason campus tour ahead of the 2021 season, Tucker has been raving about Coleman.

Looking at the pure size of Coleman compared to his fellow receivers and even Spartan defensive backs, it’s clear that he’s built for the Big Ten. Heck, he’s just built for Power Five football with that incredible size at receiver. But add “freakish athleticism” to the mix and you have a young freshman who’s close to a potential year one breakout.

Michigan State’s receiving corps is talented, but it’s going to be tough to keep Coleman off the field.

Can Coleman crack Michigan State football’s two-deep?

The words “freakish athleticism” coming from a head coach’s mouth tell us one thing: if the player doesn’t see the field, it’s not for a lack of talent. What I mean by this is, as long as Coleman can learn the playbook, he should be on the field quite a bit this season.

Right now, the Spartans have Ricky White, Jayden Reed, and Jalen Nailor as the projected starters with Tre Mosley, CJ Hayes, and Christian Fitzpatrick as the backups with Ian Stewart and Terry Lockett right in the mix. But I could see Coleman climbing the depth chart with his 6-foot-4 frame, strong build, aggressive route-running, YAC ability, and freakish athleticism.

I could see him topping some veterans on the depth chart to climb into that two-deep and if White isn’t ready by the start of the season, he could be pushing for a starting spot.

Anyone else intrigued by the rise of Coleman?