Former Bulldog wideout Kevin Coleman returning to home state for final season

Mississippi State has seen a long list of players enter the transfer portal over the last two weeks, and now, some of those players are announcing their destinations. That includes the most notable loss for the Bulldogs, who is choosing to return home for his final year of eligibility.

No transfer portal loss has been more significant for Mississippi State than wide receiver Kevin Coleman. He was State’s best player in 2024 and the lone consistent threat on the offensive side of the ball. He led the SEC with 74 catches, posting 932 yards and six touchdowns.

Losing him was a huge blow to the Bulldog roster, and as one of the top WRs in the portal, he’d have the ability to land at any number of programs. Ultimately, he’s chosen to return to his home state.

Kevin Coleman will finish his career as a Missouri Tiger. The St. Louis native steps in as the new leader of the Mizzou wide receiver room with Luther Burden III off the NFL, as well as the Tigers’ other starting wideouts. Mizzou will be the fourth program Coleman has played for. He began his career at Deion Sander’s Jackson State before moving up to the FBS at Louisville and then joining Mississippi State for the 2024 season.

Kevin Coleman’s transfer to Missouri comes as no surprise. As soon as he entered the transfer portal, the expectation was that he would choose the Tigers. The word around his decision to transfer was that he wanted to get back close to home to finish his college career. Mizzou gives him that opportunity.

Which there is another factor, and it’s not NIL. Going 2-10 is tough on players, especially the veterans whose college careers are ending soon. Mizzou is the far more attractive program right now. He can return home, be the featured WR, and likely have a fun final season of college football.

That’s the tough reality of where Mississippi State is at right now. The Bulldogs have enough NIL funding to keep their best players (within reason) and land good talent out of the portal. But NIL isn’t everything. Players want to win, and selling MSU as a place where that can happen is difficult at the moment.

That’s the challenge for Jeff Lebby going forward. He has to sell prospects on his vision in Starkville without having anything tangible on-field to show them. Until he gets results, State is going to have a hard time holding onto and attracting high level talent like Kevin Coleman.