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Keon Coleman explains slow start from Florida State receivers, how they overcame it

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/10/23
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ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 03: Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4) runs after a catch as LSU Tigers linebacker Omar Speights (1) and LSU Tigers defensive end Sai'vion Jones (35) look to make the stop during the Camping World Kickoff game between the LSU Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles, on Sunday, September 3, 2023 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

You’d hardly guess it by looking at a box score from Saturday, but Florida State managed to overcome a slow start by its wide receivers to pummel Southern Miss 66-13.

Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman, who was the star in a huge season-opening win over LSU, took full ownership for the slow start after the game.

“We started off kind of slow. I’m going to speak for my receiver room, we started off pretty slow,” Coleman said. “We left some plays out there on the field to be made. But games like that happen. You’ve just got to keep your head up and just keep chopping away at the game and next time the play comes around try to make it.”

That eventually played out, as Florida State rallied to throw four touchdown passes in the contest, with four different receivers on the end of them.

Coleman logged three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in the win, the leader in all three categories.

He felt the light go on for the unit at a certain point and the rest was history. The receivers piled up 248 yards in the contest and 11 different players caught passes in the win.

But Coleman actually credited another group for the assist.

“Eventually we caught fire and just kept on going. But thanks to the run game, the run game started clicking then everybody started going,” Coleman said. “Got a kickoff return, sparked everything up and then we started rolling from there.”

Florida State up to No. 3 in AP Top 25

Florida State climbed to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll this week, its highest ranking since it began the 2017 season ranked there.

That 2017 season, though, got off to a really slow start, with two straight losses to open the year and losses in six of the first nine games of the season. Florida State would finish unranked.

The last time Florida State was ranked higher than No. 2 was during the 2016 season, when the Seminoles began the season at No. 4 and worked their way up to No. 2 before losing to Louisville 63-20.

Florida State hasn’t reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since the 2014 season, when it opened the season and was ranked No. 1 for the first seven weeks, then returned to No. 1 for two weeks in mid-November.