Michigan State's Tom Izzo Talks Former Spartan, NFL Rookie Keon Coleman

Aidan Champion | Jul 20, 2024

Former Michigan State football receiver Keon Coleman wears a Steven Izzo jeresey during the senior night celebration after the game against Northwestern on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Regardless of how you feel about Keon Coleman leaving Michigan State, he will always be a Spartan.

The former Michigan State wide receiver was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the first pick of the second round in this year's NFL Draft, a result of hard work and production he displayed throughout his two seasons with the Spartans and his lone season at Florida State.

Coleman, of course, also played basketball for a season at Michigan State.

His former coach, Tom Izzo, recently discussed the NFL rookie wide receiver when he spoke to Josh Reed of WIVB News 4 in Buffalo.

"I recruited Keon -- in other words, when football started recruiting him -- I did a little research because they called me a bunch, said he's a pretty good basketball player," Izzo said. "And Keon Coleman could have played basketball here. Basketball was his sport. I've had a couple of guys -- Andre Rison when I was an assistant, but I had a couple of other guys that played. [Antonio] Gates was here for a semester. He became a great tight end."

Izzo went on to talk about Coleman's unique personality, which has already intrigued NFL fans.

"Keon is -- he's kind of an interesting guy. You saw by his press conference, he can be a little quirky and corny, but he is a fun guy," Izzo said. "And he is a hell of a player. I mean, he made some plays here in football, and even in basketball, he's very intelligent. Picks up stuff like immediately.

"He's got a big heart. I mean, he did leave here. OK? He left here, we had some issues football wise. He did leave here going into his junior year, but he came by here before he left, and I tried to convice him to stay. But for the most part, he's a very loyal guy, too. And came back for senior night here just for basketball. So, I think he's going to be a good teammate, I think he's going to be, man, an incredible receiver. I mean, he's got speed, he's got strength, he's got tremendous hops and he can go up and get the ball. And I know you've got a good quarterback [Josh Allen], and i thought when you drafted him, I said, 'Wow, what a great fit for our boy, Keon."

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