With WR Keon Coleman and other newcomers arriving, FSU Football gets set for summer workouts

After taking a brief break following spring practice and the end of the spring semester, the Florida State football team will come back together this weekend for the start of summer workouts.

In an interview with FSU play-by-play voice Jeff Culhane, head coach Mike Norvell explained how important the time is between now and the start of preseason camp in August.

Of course, he added that the Seminoles haven’t been sitting idly in recent weeks..

“They have their own individual plans of what they can do and everything to ramp them back up whenever we get started here this next week with our first week of our summer program,” Norvell said. “That will jump start into getting back into the meeting room, making sure we are taking the things we learned in the spring and being able to advance from there; get ready for fall camp.”

Along with the veterans, early enrollees and transfers — all of whom took part in spring practice — Florida State also will be welcoming in the remaining freshmen and any additional transfers for summer workouts.

“Just excited about having our team here together as we progress to what’s ahead for this season,” Norvell said.

The group of incoming freshmen arriving this summer will include four-star safety Conrad Hussey, four-star defensive back Edwin Joseph, four-star linebacker Blake Nichelson, four-star defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr., four-star running back Samuel Singleton, three-star receiver Goldie Lawrence, three-star offensive lineman Andre Otto, three-star defensive back Ja’Bril Rawls and three-star linebacker Dylan Brown-Turner.

Four-star freshmen Destyn Hill, who originally signed with FSU in 2021, also arrived as a freshman earlier this month.

And the Seminoles also have to be excited about the addition of Michigan State WR transfer Keon Coleman, who confirmed to Warchant that he is officially in Tallahassee for the summer program.

“Keon is a great addition to the program,” Norvell said in his interview with Culhane. “Somebody that has already showed great success at the college level. I think over 55 catches last year, close to 800 yards. I mean, he’s a dynamic player. Great ball skills, still can stretch the field vertically, but also brings a physical presence at 6-4, 215 pounds.

“It’s going to be a wonderful compliment to the playmakers that we already have here within this offense, and I think he’s going to make a dynamic impact to what we’re trying to do and where we’re going here moving forward.”

Norvell’s estimates were pretty close. The former Michigan State Spartan had 798 yards and seven touchdowns last season on 58 receptions. He was by far Michigan State’s top receiver.

He even had a career game against the Big Ten Champion Michigan Wolverines last October with 155 yards on five catches.

Coleman was one of the top available players in the transfer portal during the spring cycle, and he committed to Florida State after taking visits to FSU and Ole Miss.

Norvell already was excited to see what his offense would look like this fall with the return of quarterback Jordan Travis and a slew of skill players and offensive linemen, plus several impressive transfers and freshmen. Now, he’s maybe even more optimistic.

“When you have dynamic guys at each position, it really forces the defense to have to make a decision,” Norvell said. “It really provides more one-on-one opportunities, which really every playmaker wants. And then with us continuing to have an emphasis on running the football and the growth that we’ve seen within the offensive line, the tight end room … our wonderful running backs, being able to have that balance. …

Really forging that identity and then being able to execute that throughout the fall season is something that I’m looking forward to — that problem of getting the ball to a variety of different people. But we’ve got some great young men a part of this offense.”

Of course, as Norvell always stresses, the Seminoles will only go as far as they are willing to work this summer. And that process will hit full speed this week.

“Coming off a 10-win season, a lot of excitement winning the last six games of the year, we’ve got a really good group coming back,” Norvell said. “And for them, we’ve always had high expectations within this program, and that expectation is going to be our best, and I believe we’ll do that if we’ll continue to get better.

“The sky’s the limit to what we can accomplish, and you know, our players … it’s a daily choice. It’s a choice we have to make and what we’re willing to go do and what we’re willing to pour into what we’re capable of. But I’m excited about this team and really looking forward to just seeing it play out as we get on the field and get back to work.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.