Twelve seconds.
That’s how long it took Kevin Coleman to score his first varsity touchdown as a freshman.
Now a senior wide receiver for the St. Mary’s football team, Coleman lined up on the left side against Westminster back then on first-and-10 at the 20-yard line and ran a post route. He blew past the cornerback and before the safety had time to react the ball was in the air. Coleman reached up, caught it in stride and turned on the jets. The defenders were nearly 10 yards behind him when he reached the end zone.
It was a harbinger of what would come over the course of his spectacular high school career.
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The No. 2 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of the area’s top senior prospects, Coleman has not yet met a defender that can stop him. In his career Coleman has made 142 receptions for 2,983 yards and scored 54 total touchdowns. And that’s after playing just five games as a junior due to restrictions put in place by the St. Louis Department of Health to slow the spread of COVID-19.
St. Mary’s finished 4-2 in the fall but didn’t take the field for its final game. The Dragons were about to board the bus to play Kennett in a Class 3 district championship game only to be told they could not play due to a positive test within the program. St. Mary’s and other city schools that played sports were required by the health department to participate in bi-weekly COVID-19 testing.
Not finishing the season on the field did not sit well with Coleman.
“It just added more fire to the fire,” Coleman said. “It made us put our head down and work harder. We kind of needed that just to add more fire. It’s going to make us work harder for this season and not forget what happened last season.”
That’s a truly terrifying prospect for whoever has to try to limit the damage Coleman will do on the field this fall. He’s a consensus five-star recruit and the consensus top prospect in Missouri in his class. He’s rated as the No. 3 wide receiver in the nation by both 247sports and Rivals.
After putting up successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons as a freshman and sophomore, the 5-foot-11 and 175-pound Coleman is primed to have an absolute monster senior year. And there’s only one way it ends in his mind.
“One of my biggest goals is to win a state championship,” Coleman said. “I’ve got the (college) offers already. I’m just worried about winning a state championship.”
Coleman collects scholarship offers like they’re sold in bulk.
Among the nearly 40 offers he’s received include the likes of Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Central Florida, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UNLV, USC and Vanderbilt.
Coleman, 17, whittled his list down to a top eight, which he released in February, and said that he’s working on his top five. An All-American Bowl selection, Coleman said he will announce his college decision in January on television at the All-American game. Figuring out which place is the right fit has not been easy. Coleman is really digging into the details.
“It’s been hard. I’m looking at the team offense and the team roster. The roster is very important,” Coleman said. “I’m looking at the coaching staff and who I have the best relationship with. I’ve been locked in on that right now.”
Coleman said he’s lined up several official visits for this fall. First up he’s booked to return to Florida State in early September. He had an unofficial visit there when the NCAA lifted the recruiting dead period at the start of July.
He also plans on hitting Arizona State, Texas, Oregon and said he’s still deciding between USC and Alabama for his final official visit.
The recruiting process can be incredibly stressful for many student-athletes. It gets to become a grind. Coleman said it’s what he’s always wanted and has embraced all that comes with it.
“It’s a blessing to know your hard work paid off in the end,” Coleman said. “As a kid I always dreamed of going big and looked up to the all the people that made it big like Kam Babb.”
An elite national prospect at wide receiver as a senior at CBC, Babb was recently named a captain for the Ohio State football team. By modeling himself after Babb, Coleman felt he had the opportunity to replicate his success.
“That stuff always amazed me seeing him getting offers,” Coleman said. “Being close with him and seeing him accomplish his goals, I always knew if I competed with him and worked out with him I could do the same thing.”
Like Babb, Coleman doesn’t just make his impact on offense. He’s a nightmare to cover as a kick and punt returner if anyone actually kicks him the ball. Coleman also is an accomplished defender as he’s made 85 tackles and 14 interceptions.
While he has no interest in taking his immense talents into the defensive secondary at college, he’ll do whatever is necessary to achieve his ultimate goal in high school.
“I want to play wide receiver, that’s where my true passion is at,” Coleman said. “I just play DB to keep one of our top guys on the field at all times. Why not if you’re an athlete?”
It’s also become a place of growth for Coleman as a senior. He takes his responsibilities on the defense seriously.
“I’m just being a leader on both sides of the ball and making sure guys know everything to do,” Coleman said. “I make sure my guys watch film, know their position and know what to expect against our opponents.”
The opposition will be stiff this fall as St. Mary’s opens up its season Friday by hosting Lutheran North, and there also are showdowns with Lutheran St. Charles, Borgia, John Burroughs and rival Cardinal Ritter. Suburban Chicago powerhouse Neuqua Valley comes to St. Mary’s and there are road trips to Cincinnati’s Elder High and Louisville’s Trinity High.
It will be the biggest test yet for the Dragons and Coleman. The chances that he scores within the first minute — much less 12 seconds — are slim.
But you’d be unwise to bet against it.