EAST LANSING, Mich. — Keon Coleman had a difficult time watching college basketball this season.
It’s not because he lost his love of the game, but Coleman made a decision in late December that he needed to put his focus where it belonged — on the football field.
The football field is where, after all, the Michigan State wide receiver stood out last season — he caught 58 passes for 798 yards and seven touchdowns — and has a chance to play at the professional level. So, as he spent a week back at basketball practice with plans to play a second season on Tom Izzo’s team all while recuperating from a hip injury that hampered him at times in the fall, Coleman realized he needed to decide what was his priority.
“Honestly, after that week I had a real sit-down with myself,” Coleman said this week as Michigan State hit the halfway point of spring practice. “Like yeah, I can go help (the basketball team) but how much would I be hurting myself without getting healthy? So I was like, get back healthy and then get back to football. That’s pretty much all I could do.
“I mean, at the end of the day, your body is your business. That’s where your money is coming from.”
In other words, even though Coleman loves basketball and would have relished another shot at hitting the court with the Spartans, he understands that taking a full offseason with the football team — that includes winter conditioning and his first spring practice — will benefit him far more greatly in the long run.
So, there were no more trips to the basketball facility over the winter. Instead, Coleman spent his time making sure he was 100% healthy while working with Payton Thorne and the team’s other quarterbacks with one purpose in mind.
“Just to be the best Keon Coleman I can be,” he said. “Just do the normal things I always do, make plays and help my team win.”
He made his share of plays last season, emerging as another big-play threat next to senior Jayden Reed. It didn’t translate into more wins for the Spartans, but there’s a belief Coleman’s continued progress and focus on football will play a big role in helping the offense get rolling again after a difficult 2022.
“Very excited,” offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said when asked about Coleman’s prospects heading into next season. “He’s off to a tremendous start this spring. He has had a great for seven days. And yeah, I expect huge things from Keon, and I think he expects it and I think our team expects it. I think he's OK with that expectation. So, very excited about him.”
There’s no doubt Coleman is relishing the role as the team’s go-to receiver.
He became that at times last season, even with the presence of Reed and veteran slot receiver Tre Mosley. And Coleman says he’ll be counting on his fellow receivers even more this season, including seasoned players like Montorie Foster and Christian Fitzpatrick, who Johnson singled out this week as ready to take a big jump.
“I try to thrive in it and try to bring the younger guys with me because those are the guys we’re going to really need,” Coleman said of his status in the receivers room. “I mean, we might need me to get things started, but when all hell breaks loose and they put all the coverages on me, I have to be able to trust my young guys to be able to make those plays and the older guys as well, such as Tre, Montorie and Fitz.
“With me taking on that role, I’m also bringing my younger receivers with me making sure we're on the same level, and that’s also going to help me get more one-on-ones.”
Being around all winter helps Coleman take on that role of not only pushing his fellow upperclassmen but tutoring the likes of Tyrell Henry, Antonio Gates Jr. and Jaron Glover.
It is, after all, what the Spartans are expecting from Coleman.
“He’s really emerged as a leader,” coach Mel Tucker said at the beginning of spring practice. “We’ve been very intentional about developing leaders on our team and he’s a player that we need to be a leader and he’s making a conscious effort to be the type of player we need him to be, the type of leader we need him to be. With him being with us, it’s really helped him spend more time with his teammates, more time with us and work on not just his skills as a football player but also his leadership, which we need.”
With his basketball playing days seemingly over — Coleman would be a likely candidate to head to the NFL draft next year — the Spartans are looking forward to the big-play receiver helping them rebound from a disappointing five-win season.
Coleman believes a bounce-back is coming. After all, it’s why he gave up playing hoops.
“I feel everybody has that extra chip on their shoulder and the things we go through in the offseason as a team, it helps us want to play even harder for the guy next to us, next to you,” Coleman said. “You can dig internally, but when you feel what the next guy is going through, you kind of want to go the extra mile for that guy. So, coming out here off that 5-7 season, we’re looking to go undefeated and win some games.”
