Seth Coleman’s football journey started after his mom wanted to get him involved in sports. From soccer to track and from basketball and football, Coleman was signed up for just about everything.
He never imagined the opportunities football would eventually lead to, but Coleman has navigated the bumps in the road during his path from Little League to the Big Ten.
“Everything happens for a reason. That's what I believe in,” Coleman said. “I'm here right now, and I'm enjoying it.”
Seth Coleman began his football career in first grade, but it was not the sport he gravitated toward at an early age. Instead, it was basketball that the Melbourne, Florida, native became most invested in.
Coleman played both football and basketball at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, and he saw his first action as a freshman on the football field at cornerback. The next year, he moved to defensive end, a position at which he was eventually recruited.
As a junior, Coleman knew he needed to put all his eggs into one basket. Forced to choose between the two sports, Seth Coleman picked basketball.
Despite receiving offers from low-major and mid-major programs, he was not quite satisfied. Looking to get his education paid off, Coleman talked with his coaches, who believed he could achieve that dream if he focused solely on football.
That is exactly what transpired during his senior season. He did not skip a beat once returning to the football field, garnering scholarship offers from several power-conference programs. The short timeframe to make a decision was understandably stressful and mentally taxing, and Coleman leaned on his family, teammates, and coaches during the entire process.
“It was very different,” Coleman said. “It was so different from not having any attention to going to having a lot of attention. It was kind of overwhelming. My mom was going through it, too. All the coaches were calling her. It was really overwhelming. She was ready for me to make a decision at that point.”
After weighing all his options, Coleman committed to Illinois, a place he knew would help him on the field and in the classroom. He also wanted to express his gratitude to a program that gave him the first opportunity to play Power-Five football.
“My mom really enjoyed the educational part about it. Getting a degree from here means something. My mom really enjoyed that, and I really enjoyed the staff that was here,” Coleman said.
Coleman credits his upbringing in Florida for getting him to the collegiate level. Playing with and against highly recruited and talented players on a daily basis, he learned early on the things he needed to do to reach his goal of playing college football.
“There are so many athletes from different places, from Miami all the way to Tallahassee and Pensacola. We're known for that,” Coleman said. “We have a lot of people in the NFL. From a competitive aspect of it, it really makes you better every day since you're going against the best.”
Making his Illinois debut during the 2019 campaign, Coleman played in three games and redshirted following his freshman season. Buying into the process and vision of his coaches, he embraced the challenges that came with being a true freshman.
Coleman maintained that mindset after Bret Bielema took over as the team’s head coach following his sophomore year. In addition to the changes that came with a new coaching staff, Coleman also changed positions, moving from defensive end – a position at which he was recruited and spent his first two collegiate seasons – to outside linebacker.
His loyalty to the program and willingness to adapt paid off, as he made three starts and tallied his first-career sack in the 2021 season opener.
The following year, Coleman took another step forward, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention status for the first time after making 12 starts and ranking second on the team in sacks and quarterback hurries.
“It was definitely an honor to be honored by my peers,” Coleman said when reflecting on the 2022 season. “It just motivates you to want to do better, be better, and get on the third team, second team, first team, and be an All-American. It really put in my head that I can do this and I can be better.”
In 2023, Coleman led the Power Five in sacks during road games during the regular season, and he recorded a team-best nine tackles for a loss en route to All-Big Ten honorable-mention honors for the second consecutive campaign.
Following another standout season, Coleman could have gone pro. He could have gone off to live out his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Instead, he opted to return to Illinois for one final year, with the goal of graduating and earning a degree being a big factor behind that decision in each of the last two offseasons.
“The NFL is not for long, and you need something to fall back on. That's basically what my mom ingrained in my head at a young age,” Coleman said. “Sports aren't always for long. Something could happen. You don't want it to happen, but something could happen. That's what she told me, and that's what I try to do.”
In his sixth and final season in Champaign, Coleman switched numbers from 49 to 9, a lengthy process that came to fruition after a conversation between the Florida native and his head coach. Ultimately, he wanted to return to a number that meant a lot to him during his high school days in his final year with the Orange and Blue.
“Coach B and I had to talk about that. He was like, 'You've been here the whole time; you've made it your own.' That was my high school number, so I wanted to change back to it,” Coleman said. “It's something I wanted to do since I got here. When I first got here, Dele Harding had it. He's back on the staff now. I just feel like that's a number I wanted for a long time.”
As a quiet leader and a team captain, Coleman wants to leave Illinois on a positive note. After spending six seasons in Champaign, he aims to leave a strong legacy for years to come in his last dance with the Fighting Illini.
“Being voted by your peers speaks a lot about what I do. To know they respect me enough to be a team captain is just an honor. I want to represent them well, and I want to do the best that I can for them,” Coleman said. “I want to be known as a good leader, for how I represented the team well, and for how I did what I needed to do on the field to go to the next level. That's what I want to be represented as.
“When you're winning, everything is good. That's cool with me. Winning brings more attention to the team. If you put the right things on tape, someone's gonna find you. That's how I feel about it. Sacks are gonna come. Sacks come in bunches; my coach always tells me that.”
