‘Thankful’ Coleman scores 3 TDs in FSU debut

ORLANDO, Fla. — After Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman put together a dominant performance in a statement win over LSU on Sunday night, he was asked what he was most grateful for after such a big game.

Coleman has been at Florida State for only a handful of months, after transferring from Michigan State in mid-May. But no one would know it just from watching how he fit seamlessly into an already strong offense. Coleman caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-24 victory over the No. 5 Tigers that will only serve to heighten already sky-high expectations for No. 8 FSU this season.

“Really, just being thankful for the opportunity,” Coleman said. “Coach [Mike Norvell] saying yes to me and believing in me. 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.”

Norvell, sitting next to Coleman at the podium during the postgame news conference, turned to the wideout and said, “I’m grateful for you saying yes too,” eliciting chuckles from the large media contingent in the room.

Florida State already had returned a vast majority of its offense, including starting quarterback Jordan Travis, starting running back Trey Benson and starting wide receiver Johnny Wilson. But adding Coleman showed how much further Florida State can go with yet another playmaker on its roster.

Coleman made every play on the ball when it was thrown his way, including two contested catches, one of which resulted in a touchdown. Since the start of last season, Coleman has an FBS-best nine contested touchdown catches, and that ability alone is enough to elevate a team’s passing game. His three receiving touchdowns on Sunday tied for the most in a game by a Florida State player over the past 25 years.

In a tightly contested first half, Coleman kept Florida State in the game with touchdown catches of 40 and 21 yards. But Florida State trailed 17-14 at halftime thanks to a combination of penalties, mistakes and poor decision-making from some of its best players. Norvell settled his team down at halftime and told his offense, “You will score every drive in the second half if you just go out there and focus on the little things, focus on the details.”

He was right. Florida State scored on each of its drives, to the tune of 31 points. Travis settled down and commanded the offense, while Coleman added his third touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Travis finished with 342 yards passing, one rushing touchdown and a career-high four touchdown passes. In addition, Travis became the first FSU player with four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a game since Jameis Winston in 2013 against Pittsburgh.

This also was Florida State’s largest win against a top-10 team since the Noles’ 2013 national title run.

“That second half, that was a glimpse of what I think this team can do and where I think it can go,” Norvell said. “But there’s a lot of things we’re going to have to clean up.”

The game turned in the third quarter with a gamble on fourth down. With the score tied at 17, Florida State faced a fourth-and-2 from the LSU 42-yard line. Florida State went for it with a swing pass out to a wide open Lawrance Toafili, who went 41 yards. Travis scored on the next play and the Seminoles went from there, gaining the confidence they needed to begin overpowering LSU up front.

After allowing nearly 300 yards in the first half, the defense settled in, too, and started shutting down Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels and the running lanes. Florida State finished with four sacks and held LSU to fewer than 200 second-half yards.

Norvell was not ready to make grand proclamations or statements after the game about where his team is headed. He knows the work involved. The program he inherited when he took over as coach in 2020 had a roster that he had to completely flip over. He has done that over the past four years through the transfer portal — and the dividends showed themselves Sunday night.

Coleman is just the latest transfer portal success story at Florida State. Florida State has starters who are transfers across its two-deep, including Benson, Wilson, tight end Jaheim Bell and defensive standout Jared Verse. Patience was required to get Florida State to this point. Patience will be required after opening night, too.

“That’s one game. It was a first step and it was a big step,” Norvell said. “You get a chance to be on this stage, you want to go play well. I don’t think we played our best game but I thought that second half, we were able to really finish the way that we wanted to. I’m proud of them for the way that they continued to battle, the way they showed resilience and who they are.”