Coleman was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma in 1928 and moved with his family to Flint, Michigan before his freshman year in high school.
"[2] In 1952, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that Coleman "probably is packed with more football per pound than any man in the United States.
[1][7][8] Michigan State under Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty earned a reputation as one of the leaders in racial integration of football, and Coleman was the first of many great African-American stars to play for the Spartans.
Weighing only 180 pounds, Coleman employed quickness, agility, brains and courage to win unanimous selection as an All-American in 1951.
[10] Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan said that Coleman's only rival among Big Ten lineman was Bronko Nagurski.
In presenting Coleman with the award, Michigan Governor Mennen Williams said, "A couple of those tackles I saw you make in the Notre Dame game were enough to convince me.
Line coach Duffy Daugherty pointed to a Coleman blocks in the Marquette game as "one of the greatest plays by an offensive lineman that I've ever seen.
"[13] According to Daugherty, Coleman was knocked to the ground, but got up, caught and passed the Michigan State ball carrier (Leroy Bolden) and "still made the key block that let him go for 33 yards.
Against Ohio State that same year, he tackled the return man at the seven yard line on the opening kickoff.
At the Outland Trophy award ceremony, Coleman met Kentucky football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.
[4] In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune prior to the College All-Star Game in August 1952, Coleman emphasized his pride in being an All-American both athletically and scholastically.
Starting with Coleman, Michigan State played only one lineman on the short side between the center and end positions.
Coleman initially "turned down all offers" from the Cardinals, saying that he felt he was too small at 185 pounds to make much of a showing in professional football.
He was required to report to Fort Lee, Virginia, after appearing in the College All-Star Game in August 1952.
He appeared in the Cardinals' starting lineup for an exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers at Minneapolis.
[24] On September 1, 1954, the Cardinals traded Coleman to the Green Bay Packers for defensive halfback Marvin Johnson.
[31] According to a report in the Washington Afro-American, Michigan State was forced to leave its "lily-white hiring" by the "quiet but firm demands of a militant, forward looking student organization.
"[14] After his resignation from the coaching staff, Coleman held ten different assignments at Michigan State, including assistant dean of the graduate school, counselor and director of minority comprehensive support programs at the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, and professor emeritus.
Eighteen years after suffering the heart attack, Coleman, at age 81, told an interviewer, "Since then, my cardiovascular experience has gone well.