Former Michigan State WR Coleman Has Still Looked to WRs Coach Hawkins for Guidance

Former Michigan State wide receiver Keon Coleman is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class.

Michigan State football likely won’t be too represented in next week’s NFL Draft, but there is one former Spartan who could go as early as the first round.

Former Michigan State wide receiver Keon Coleman comes off an impressive collegiate campaign, his lone season with Florida State. He joined the Seminoles in the 2023 offseason after spending two seasons with the Spartans.

Coleman is now one of the top receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft class and will be entering the next stage of his football career next week.

While Coleman decided to finish his college career elsewhere, he developed connections at Michigan State, including one with Spartans wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins.

“We just talked the other day,” Hawkins told reporters after the Spartans’ spring practice on Thursday. "He made a business decision, but I mean, we have a relationship bigger than this business of college football now. It’s [college football] so different. He took advantage of what he felt like was best for him. But from a coach-player standpoint, I mean, we’re [locked fingers]. I mean, he calls asking, ‘Should I do this? Should I do that?’ through this process right now that he’s going through with the whole draft approaching and all of that.

“So, we got a tremendous relationship. And I’m one of his biggest fans. I’ll be sitting in front of the TV like, ‘Gotta take my guy.’”

Coleman played for the Spartans during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, his most notable having been the latter when he led Michigan State with 798 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 58 receptions. He played in all 12 of Michigan State’s games.

Coleman was named a 2022 third-team All-Big-Ten honoree by the media and an an honorable mention by league coaches. 

Prior to that 2022 season, Coleman played 10 games in the Spartans’ 2021 season when they finished with an 11-2 record that included a victory over Pittsburgh in the 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. He also played six games for Coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State men’s basketball team in the 2021-22 college basketball season.

The 2024 NFL Draft begins Thursday and will be held in Detroit, Michigan.

The Michigan State Spartan Football "Spring Showcase" will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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