Tyeland Coleman's path to Florida State was quite a bit different than many of the other new Seminoles who joined the football program in January as mid-year enrollees.

Some transfer additions were highly-rated out of high school and arrive at FSU with proven FBS production. Others are highly-rated high-school additions.

That wasn't the case for Coleman, a defensive lineman in the 2023 high-school class out of Terry, Miss.

"Out of high school, I didn't have any stars," Coleman reflected in his introductory FSU press conference. "So it was automatic JUCO (junior college) route for me."

Coleman doesn't cite any one reason for why he slipped through the cracks as a high-school recruit. It probably didn't help him that he's from a small town with a population of less than 1,500 people and an area of less than four square miles.

He says he didn't attend football camps on college campuses, which are held by programs to find potential recruits they were previously unaware of it. He also admits he was raw as a prospect.

So despite a fairly productive career at Terry High with 117 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over a three-year career as a 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive tackle, Terry didn't generate FBS interest.

"No one really believed in me," Coleman said.

One person who did believe in Coleman was Northwest Mississippi Community College head football coach Benjy Parker. He saw the defensive lineman's potential and offered him the opportunity to continue his football career at NMCC.

"Ty's a big guy. He's got something you can't coach, he's got the size, the speed and great character. We recruited him and it turned out just like we thought, a Florida State-type player without question..." Parker told the Osceola. "He got here and what a great kid, great smile on his face, worked his tail off and developed and got better and the rest is history."

Even at the junior-college ranks, Coleman needed a bit of time to find his footing. He played a backup role as a freshman in 2023, recording eight tackles (two solo), a TFL and three hurries in nine games.

As a sophomore in 2024, he moved into the starting lineup and saw his production improve with 23 tackles, three TFLs, 1.5 sacks, three hurries and a pass deflection in nine games.

"In JUCO, when I first got there, I wasn't really good at a lot of stuff. I was just kind of a body..." Coleman said. "My hands got better, my run-stopping got better, my pass-rushing got better and it just kind of kept improving from there."

As Coleman's sophomore season began last fall, the offers began to pour in. This began largely with Group of Five schools along with in-state Mississippi State and the Seminoles became the third P4 school to offer Coleman after MSU and Cal on Oct. 22.

FSU was the sixth and final official visit Coleman took the weekend of the Florida game and mere days before the early signing period began in early December. While the Seminoles weren't the initial team in his recruitment, they eventually won him over.

"When I was younger, I saw Florida State on TV so I said, 'Man, that's going to be an amazing opportunity.' After awhile, I was like, 'Florida State is the place to go...' " Coleman said. "When I was younger, my mom always told me, 'If you ever have the chance and you have a really good chance to do it, get out of Mississippi.' That's why I chose to come to Florida State. It's a really good chance to get out of state and do some really big things on a big team."

During his time at NMCC, Coleman was someone who proved worthy of playing all over the defensive line. Depending on where the Raiders had a need, he could move inside to tackle or outside to end.

"In our scheme, Ty was a guy that he's smart enough to learn two or three different positions," Parker said. "We played him at nose, we played him at end and he could learn them all. If we had an injury, if we had a depth issue here and there, he could do that. He was just really good."

That could prove to be an asset for Coleman as he transitions to FSU. Now listed at 6-foot-4, 285 pounds, he may be capable of playing both inside and outside on the defensive line, a versatility that is more valuable in Tony White's 3-3-5 defense than in the more traditional 4-3 or 4-2-5 defensive scheme.

"I play everywhere so wherever I'm best at, that's where they're going to put me. Wherever they want..." Coleman said. "I feel like it's definitely a good thing because you've got film at both spots. Being a versatile guy like that makes you a lot more valuable. It's good to have that experience."

Parker added, "Ty is as good as anybody we've had. I think he will flourish in that scheme. I think he's a big guy that can move and I think everybody in Tallahassee will be proud to have Ty there. I really believe that."

Coleman, who was also a competitive weightlifter in high school, has long worked hard in the gym to develop his body. However, his transition to FSU and a much larger strength and conditioning staff has helped him take his regimen to the next level.

"It's definitely very technical here. I feel like I've learned a lot more movements, the smaller muscles, they definitely get into all that stuff," Coleman said. "It's definitely amazing having very specific strength training."

The same goes generally for the quality of life upgrade Coleman has experienced since enrolling at FSU in January. While grateful for NMCC and the opportunity it presented him to eventually make it to the FBS level, he's now happy to reap the rewards of being a part of a team like this FSU squad.

"A lot of structure," Coleman said. "Northwest had good structure for a JUCO, but there's an amazing structure here and a lot of stuff like that."

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