Keon Coleman and Payton Thorne are both in the transfer portal. Those are the words that many didn’t believe they would one day hear. For Michigan State, that would be their starting quarterback and stud wide receiver, both looking to leave.

I was the man of the house had to figure 💩 out every time pops went to the feds 🥷🏾🩸🛸👁 pic.twitter.com/xPoF9hIK62

— 𝓚𝓔𝓞𝓝 𝓒𝓞𝓛𝓔𝓜𝓐𝓝 (@keoncoleman6) December 10, 2022

Payton Thorne in the transfer portal

This is a little bit less shocking when you look at it from the outside. It definitely seemed like a possibility since there was an open quarterback battle. Despite Thorne running with the starters at the spring kickoff event a couple weeks ago, there’s a chance that they told him he wasn’t going to win the battle. That doesn’t seem likely, though, as

For anyone who thinks he will be going to Western Michigan, I wouldn’t say that is likely because his dad isn’t the coach there anymore and there’s a whole new staff there. There were some rumors that Auburn had reached out to him, which would be a very interesting development. Despite what your thoughts of him might be, there are plenty of suitors lining up to take him because of their struggle at the QB position.

Keon Coleman’s transfer portal future

This was the biggest one that shook the MSU nation. To see Keon Coleman enter the transfer portal is a major red flag for this program. This was the biggest recruit that Mel Tucker was able to bring in and is currently projected to be a first-round pick by some in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The 6’4 and 210-pound junior is going to be a hot commodity for a lot of teams to target as the best wide receiver in the league. Coleman had 58 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns this past season. The rumor is that Oklahoma and LSU are both heavily interested in him, with the possibility of many more offers to come. You would have to imagine that the school that offers both the most NIL and the best possibility to win and succeed will be chosen.

Interesting tidbit: I was told that Coleman made his decision over a week ago.

However, those in the program feel that the sudden departure of QB Payton Thorne actually *increases* Coleman’s chances of returning to after testing waters.

Make of that assessment what you will.

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) April 30, 2023

This is an interesting tweet by Thind talking about the possibility of Coleman returning and shows that there was definitely some frustration with Thorne as QB. I don’t blame either of them for deciding to test the waters, and there’s always the chance that they return, but it’s not a good look for Michigan State.

The departure of Keon Coleman would leave fifth-year senior Tre Mosley as WR1 and the rest of the core wide open. No matter how good Kim or Houser might be, that leaves no weapons for them to work with. There’s a lot of work to do for Tucker and this staff, or this will be another long season for MSU.

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Photo Credit: Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports

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