Michigan State's Keon Coleman makes history, repeats feat of Florida State legend
Michigan State’s Keon Coleman joined elite company on Saturday afternoon. Coleman is a two-sport athlete and plays on Michigan State’s football and basketball teams. Against Michigan on Saturday, he made his college basketball debut, and put his name into the record books while doing so.
Coleman played in just about a minute against Michigan, but he made it count, driving for a layup for his first career basket. By doing so, he became the first player to score a touchdown and a basket for AP top ten teams in both football and basketball since Florida State’s Charlie Ward in 1992-1993.
Coleman caught seven passes for 50 yards and a touchdown in his true freshman season with Michigan State football. His best performance came on November 20, where he caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Ohio State.
Michigan State was ranked No. 9 in the final AP rankings after college football’s bowl season. The Spartans are currently No. 10 in the latest AP basketball poll. Playing two sports is tough enough at the college level, but Coleman doing so on two top ten teams is even more impressive.
Charlie Ward was a dual-sport star for Florida State, playing quarterback on the football team and playing a key role on the basketball court. Ward threw for 5,747 yards with 49 touchdowns and 22 interceptions for the Seminoles. He also started 73 of his 91 career games on the court, scoring 8.1 points per game while averaging 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 steals.
The New York Knicks selected Ward 26th overall in the 1994 NBA Draft, and he went on to have an 11-year NBA career.
By joining Ward in elite company as dual-sport athletes, Coleman knows how special his accomplishment is. He took to Twitter on Saturday after his historic moment.
“Proud to be apart of such elite company,” Coleman tweeted.
Coleman isn’t the only dual-sport athlete on Michigan State
In addition to Coleman making history as a dual-sport athlete for Michigan State, Maliq Carr also plays both football and basketball for the Spartans. Carr also made his collegiate basketball debut on Saturday, though he did not record any statistics in his minute of play.
Carr began his college football career in 2020 with Purdue, recording one reception for 15 yards. He came to Michigan State this year, and he caught eight passes for 135 yards as a tight end. Carr also caught a two-point conversion for the Spartans.
In addition to Coleman and Carr making their debuts for Michigan State basketball on Saturday, the Spartans had a successful all-around performance. Michigan State cruised to an 83-67 victory over Michigan.