Steven Sipple: Malachi Coleman reports to NU’s campus Sunday with an obvious hunger and right mentality to make immediate impact
If Malachi Coleman isn’t the most physically impressive player in Nebraska football’s 2023 recruiting class, he’s certainly near the very top of the list.
If he’s as mature as he sounds, well, don’t be surprised if the 6-foot-4, 198-pound wide receiver makes an immediate impact for the Huskers in 2023.
Nobody here is putting pressure on him. Don’t read this in that manner.
It’s just that he’s an impressive young man who looks the part.
He looks — and sounds — ready to play Power 5 football.
Impressive young man? Consider that Coleman was on hand for every Nebraska spring practice, all 15 of them, before his classes at Lincoln East High School began at 10:40 a.m.
“I wanted to see how the coaches operate,” Coleman told HuskerOnline. “I wanted to see how they teach. I wanted to see how they coach. Each of those things are different to me. I wanted to see the structure of practice, how detailed they are with how they teach.
“I wanted to see how technical they get. I wanted to see the details of each route, the details of each blocking assignment.”
It was clearly a lot to absorb, especially for a high school athlete.
“I realize that mentally is where I’m going to have to be ahead of everybody if I want to get time on the field,” Coleman says.
Coleman will officially report to campus Sunday along with other Huskers. He’ll begin summer classes Tuesday, and summer football work begins June 4. It’s go time.
Malachi Coleman brings impressive credentials
If he is going to make an immediate impact as a Nebraska player, he says, it’ll also be about having the right attitude.
“Nothing’s going to be handed to you,” he says. “You’ve got to be good enough. There ain’t no favorites in this game; it’s just a matter of whether you’re good enough or not.”
Coleman’s credentials are impressive. Regarded as the No. 1 recruit in Nebraska in 2023 and one of the top prospects in the country, Coleman was selected to play in the 2023 All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl. In the Polynesian Bowl, he caught two touchdown passes.
Injuries limited Coleman’s availability and productivity during his senior season at Lincoln East, but he flashed his ability during his junior season. As a junior, he caught 17 passes for 561 yards, averaging 33.0 yards per reception. Ten of his 17 catches went for touchdowns. On defense, Coleman had 57 tackles, including 7 1/2 sacks, while forcing four fumbles. He was also a stellar return man for the Spartans.
“Honestly, learning receiver has kind of been my biggest challenge,” he says. “I was more seen as a defensive-end type person coming into high school. Up until then, I played safety, then moved down to the line (of scrimmage).”
He tries every day to learn more about the receiver trade. He says he learned plenty in the All-American and Polynesian bowls because the level of competition went up a few notches.
“Just those two weeks alone, I learned so much more than all of high school combined because you’re going against the best,” he says. “When you get challenged, you’ve got to step up. That’s kind of what I did. If you step up, I’m going to step up. I’m competitive in that way. I’m not going to lose; I don’t care what it is.”
Incoming Husker impressed with Garret McGuire
Coleman seems genuinely enthusiastic when it comes to being coached up. He describes his position coach at Nebraska, 24-year-old Garret McGuire, as “the most detailed person I’ve ever met.”
“He goes through every single pass play,” Coleman said. “He details every single person’s route. He tells you what you could do better (and) what you did good. He’s a nice person. You can call him up anytime, and he’s going to be there for me. I can ask him any question.
“You don’t get that at many places. I’m very, very blessed to have him.”
Yeah, McGuire can be demanding. Bring it on, Coleman says. To wit: Coleman’s in the process of making 20,000 catches before preseason camp begins in late July or early August.
McGuire asked each of his receivers to catch 10,000 passes before they report to camp, but Coleman goes above and beyond.
He’s an enormous talent and appears to be hungry to achieve.
That’s a combination all coaches seek.
“I’m not a person who’s going to settle for average,” says Coleman, who’s hauling in 714 catches per day in order to reach 20,000.
“I want to let these guys know that work ethic is never going to be my problem,” he adds. “I’m going to outwork you.”
Seems dangerous to count out this freshman
As Coleman speaks, my mind drifts back to last June, when Coleman’s size and physical ability stood out in such grand fashion during a Nebraska football camp.
You see the obvious talent and physical gifts. Then, you hear his mature words … If you’re a Nebraska fan, how does your mind not wander to places that may be a bit premature? After all, he’s physically ready to play.
It seems dangerous to count him out, particularly considering his apparent high level of want-to.
I’m going to outwork you.
I’m a person who’s not going to settle for average.
When you get challenged, you’ve got to step up.
Make no mistake, Coleman will be challenged this summer as he works against gifted corners such as Quinton Newsome and Malcolm Hartzog, not to mention rugged safeties Isaac Gifford and Myles Farmer.
Coleman will learn in a hurry what it takes, if he doesn’t already understand.
My guess is his new teammates will learn in a hurry that Coleman is there to compete.
Although his track season for Lincoln East was cut short by a hamstring injury, Coleman is now healthy.
Healthy and hungry.
“I’ve been healthy for about a month and a half,” he says. “I’ve been doing workouts. Now it’s to the point where I’m stacking, stacking, stacking (workouts) to the point where I’m going to be coming into the fall being one of the people competing for a spot.
“But having to go to every (track and field) meet and watch my teammates, it sucked. I hate watching. I hate with a passion watching because I’m a competitor. I want to be out on the field, I want to be on the track. I always want to be out competing.”
He looks ready for the challenge.
He also sounds ready to be a contributor in 2023.
It’s hard to bet against him.
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