Two High-Profile Transfers Expected on Florida State's Campus For Official Visits This Weekend

The Seminoles are bringing in two of the top players in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

As the NCAA Transfer Portal Spring Window closed on Sunday, Florida State found itself with a couple of holes to fill on the roster. With the team projected to be sitting at around 80 of 85 scholarships allocated for the upcoming 2023 season, the coaching staff is already reaching into the portal to replenish the losses.

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The Seminoles are set to bring in two high-profile transfers this weekend for Official Visits. NoleGameday has been informed that UAB safety transfer Jaylen Key and Michigan State wide receiver transfer Keon Coleman will be at Florida State beginning on Friday.

It's only been a couple of days since Key named Florida State to his top six alongside Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Ole Miss, and North Carolina. He's already visited Ole Miss and Alabama and is expected to continue exploring his options after his trip to Tallahassee.

Key is coming off a breakout year at UAB after five years at the college level. In 2022, he recorded a career-high 60 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and three interceptions. During his time at UAB, he appeared in 43 games, totaling 74 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one pass deflection.

The Florida native played his prep ball locally at Godby High School and is from nearby Quincy. The Seminoles can offer him an opportunity to play closer to home along with a sizable role in the process. The team only has two safeties on its roster with experience following decisions from Omarion Cooper and Travis Jay to move on.

Florida State has also taken a couple of hits at wide receiver with Malik McClain departing from the program earlier in the year and the recent loss of Mycah Pittman to the portal. That has the coaching staff turning to Michigan State wide receiver transfer Keon Coleman as a replacement.

For what it's worth, the Seminoles actually recruited Coleman out of high school and were one of the top schools in his recruitment at the time. Unfortunately, head coach Mike Norvell was unable to get him on campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic that locked down college football for nearly 15 months. By the time the dead period was lifted, Coleman had already signed with Michigan State.

"With FSU I feel like I have a really good relationship and strong connection with the coaches," Coleman said to NoleGameday back during his high school recruitment. "I talk to them every day. I'm actually getting on the phone with them later today (Monday) to talk about trimming my list." 

"They throw the ball a lot which I like," Coleman said previously. "They talk about me coming there and playing and being a part of that offense. I can be a deep threat, jump ball guy for them. They're taking three receivers, I think. I like what they do. Just the tight relationship with the coaches, they always have good teams, and they play in a good conference. I did the virtual tour which was good. That was my first time seeing FSU."

This is a little different than your typical transfer recruitment with the amount of familiarity between Coleman and Florida State. The official visit will be his first trip to another school since entering the portal at the end of April.

The Seminoles can offer him a stable situation to display his talents behind the arm of an elite quarterback. Coleman would have a chance to play an immediate role with his ability as a deep threat.

Last season, the Louisiana native led Michigan State with 58 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named Third-Team All-Big Ten following the campaign and appears to just be unlocking his diverse skillset. In total, Coleman appeared in 22 games, with 12 starts, and caught 65 passes for 848 yards and eight touchdowns at Michigan State. He also contributed on the hardwood during the 2022 spring semester before turning his primary focus to football.

Florida State has already landed nine players out of the transfer portal since December including former Western Michigan defensive lineman Braden Fiske, former Miami defensive lineman Darrell Jackson, and former Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress II. The Seminoles hold the No. 5 transfer class in the country according to 247Sports.

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