Not every child can make it out of bad neighborhoods to excel for a higher purpose. For Florida State star Keon Coleman, his ability to do so not only had everything to do with his upbringing but the people around him that touched his life.
Let’s learn more about Coleman’s parents and what his upbringing was like.
A Look at Keon Coleman’s Mother
Coleman was born May 17, 2003, to Raven Savoy.
Originally from Opelousas, La., Coleman saw football and basketball as a way to stay off the dangerous streets of the town, while looking for a future past his current state.
Despite being from Louisiana and playing at a high school close to LSU, the Tigers didn’t offer a scholarship to the multi-sport athlete, detailing Coleman’s love for basketball as the reason why. He ended up choosing Michigan State and later transferred to Florida State.
On opening night last season, Coleman’s three-touchdown effort against the same LSU Tigers that denied him a chance to play for them was something felt by the entire family.
“He was ready and determined,” Keon’s older brother Kaylan said. “Competing against the home team and in front of the whole world … Against LSU?”
As we learn more about Keon, let’s see just how important Savoy and the rest of the family were to his development.
The story of Coleman’s parents is complex. Savoy is a single mother to five children, and while she openly had help from people around her community, she continued to be the driving force in her child’s life.
“[Coleman] has had hardships that most kids would struggle with,” Jonathan Fisher said, a director at Hope for Opelousas told Yahoo Sports. “He made it because of his mom. She did everything to make sure he never got away. She used resources like us.”
From an early age, Savoy sought sports and the Hope for Opelousas house as ways to keep her children off the streets and away from the gangs and crime around them.
MORE: PFN Life — Off-the-Field Content
It was basketball, football, and the Hope for Opelousas group that helped stabilize the Coleman family. It’s something Savoy has understood and used to her advantage in raising her five kids.
It appeared to all come together in that win against LSU last September.
“It’s been so many years of him against everybody else,” Savoy said through some tears. “It’s always him against everybody else. No one believed in him.”
No one may have believed in Coleman, but his mother’s sacrifice has him on the doorstep of the NFL.
Does Coleman Have Any Siblings?
Keon is one of five children raised by Raven and her mother, Paula. It was Paula who put faith in Keon’s life from an early age, and it was Paula who was first to reach out to the young receiver ahead of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
As ESPN details, after Paula’s text, Keon was surprised to see Raven and his brother Kaylon in Indianapolis. Outside of Kaylon, Keon has two sisters and another brother, Kalin, who moved with the wideout to Michigan State.
“[Kalin] has pretty much been my trainer, my brother, [and] part of a father figure. He’s just been everything helping me with all that,” Coleman told CBS6 Sports.
Despite growing up in a single-parent household, the Coleman family has been able to overcome those struggles and has set the mark for Keon to continue reaching as he begins his NFL career.
KEEP READING: Top WRs in the 2024 NFL Draft
It also helps to have an All-Pro wide receiver as a cousin and mentor.
Keon and the Coleman family are related to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
The young Coleman actually had worked out with Lamb ahead of the Combine and has openly stated that he would love to be drafted by the Cowboys so he can play with his cousin and be relatively close to his family’s hometown.
While we don’t know where Coleman will eventually get selected, it’s clear he’s got the tools necessary both on and off the field to succeed.
Draft with your friends today! PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator now supports multiple drafters during the same draft! Find out how the PFN Scouting Department ranks this year’s prospects with our 2024 NFL Draft Big Board and follow along throughout the draft with our NFL team needs tracker.