Michigan State’s Tom Izzo talks about former Spartan, NFL rookie Keon Coleman

Whatever you think about Keon Coleman’s departure from Michigan State, he will always be a Spartan.

The former Michigan State wide receiver was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the first overall pick in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft, a result of the hard work and productivity he showed during his two seasons with the Spartans and his lone season at Florida State.

Coleman, of course, also played one season of basketball at Michigan State.

His former coach, Tom Izzo, recently discussed the NFL rookie wide receiver when speaking with Josh Reed of WIVB News 4 in Buffalo.

“I recruited Keon — in other words, when football started recruiting him — I did a little bit of research because they called me a bunch, said he’s a pretty good basketball player,” Izzo said. “And Keon Coleman could have played basketball here. Basketball was his sport. I had a couple guys — Andre Rison when I was an assistant, but I had a couple other guys that played. (Antonio) Gates was here for a semester. He became a great tight end.”

Izzo then talked about Coleman’s unique personality, which has already intrigued NFL fans.

“Keon is — he’s kind of an interesting guy. You saw it in his press conference, he can be a little quirky and a little corny, but he’s a fun guy,” Izzo said. “And he’s a great player. I mean, he’s made some plays here in football, and even in basketball, he’s very intelligent. He picks things up on the fly.

“He’s got a big heart. I mean, he left here. Okay? He left here, we had some issues with football. He left here going into his junior year, but he came through here before he left, and I tried to convince him to stay. But overall, he’s a very loyal guy. And he came back for senior night here, just for basketball. So I think he’s going to be a great teammate, I think he’s going to be, man, an unbelievable receiver. I mean, he’s got speed, he’s got power, he’s got great hops and he can go up and get the ball. And I know you have a good quarterback (Josh Allen), and I thought when you drafted him, I said, ‘Wow, what a great fit for our kid, Keon.’

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