Keon Coleman admits playing against his home state 'added salt to the wound' vs. LSU

Keon Coleman poured a little salt in the wound when Florida State dominated LSU Sunday night and the transfer wide receiver made it clear where his allegiances were.

Coleman, a Louisiana native and Michigan State transfer, went up against his home state in his debut for Florida State. While he and his family are from there, he didn’t really think about it at first.

In fact, he just wanted a great game in a big spot, not necessarily extra motivation.

“I’m going to be honest, I don’t really think so,” Coleman said. “I mean, I took it as a game, I get to go out and just do what the Lord has blessed me to do, just play football and be able to have fun with it and take every game as its own and just go out there and try to get the W.

“But it added a little salt to the wound. That’s my home state. A lot of my family are fans of them, but I ain’t so much of a fan of them. I’m a Seminole now.”

Coleman finished the game with nine catches, 122 yards and three touchdowns to make an instant impact in the 45-24 win over LSU.

“Well, really just being thankful for the opportunity; Coach saying yes to me, coming to a new school after the transfer portal, and believing in me,” Coleman said. “I’m grateful for my teammates, getting to show them the hard work that we have been putting in the whole summer is paying off and getting to show a glimpse of what I can do, and not only me, just what our whole receiver room and the rest of the team can do.”

After playing sparingly as a freshman in 2021 with the Spartans, Coleman broke out last season. He had 58 catches for 798 yards, seven touchdowns and 13.8 yards per catch.

Coleman certainly made his presence known Sunday night, playing with quarterback Jordan Travis and demonstrating great chemistry. Since Coleman found the end zone three times, it almost overshadowed Johnny Wilson’s performance: seven catches for 104 yards.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Coleman was a four-star recruit out of Opelousas (La.) Catholic School, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 13 overall prospect in the state, the No. 57 wide receiver in the class and the No. 368 overall prospect in the class.