The NFL Draft concluded Saturday, April 29 with many hearing their name called through seven rounds of picks while many were left to wonder what’s next.
For former Cal Poly and Fresno State wide receiver Chris Coleman, he’s one of the fortunate ones to know where his next stop is.
He may not have heard his name called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in Kansas City but he did get a phone call from the Miami Dolphins signing him to undrafted free agent contract.
"Every single time I had to wake up when I literally was exhausted, you just look back at it and you're like, it was all completely worth it," Coleman reflected.
As the first player since J.J. Koski in 2020 to make the NFL from Cal Poly, Coleman will join an experienced talented wide receiver room headlined by All-Pro Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker.
"I think Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle will bring such a different dynamic to the game that I've never experienced before along with the other guys in the room and along with Wes Welker teaching," Coleman explained.
The Bakersfield native finished his college career at Cal Poly for his last two seasons where he became an instant lift for a team that struggled in the win-loss column. Coleman was an Big Sky Honorable Mention in 2022 while also shouldering the load offensively leading the team in receptions and yards.
"Cal Poly offered me and they were invested in me," Coleman said of his transfer decision. "At the end of the day, I know what I was capable of doing. I just needed somebody or a team to want to invest in me."
While Coleman is the first Mustang to be drafted in three years, he spent his first four years at Fresno State where after this year's draft class, saw five Bulldogs get picked up or drafted including former teammate and quarterback Jake Haener who the New Orleans Saints took as the 127th overall pick.
"Players from the receiver room that I was in when I was at Fresno State, they got a shot," which includes Nikko Remigio and Jalen Moreno-Cropper. "Obviously, Jake Haener, we knew him coming in that he was going to get a shot. He's a damn good player."
While Coleman will still have to prove himself in training camp to earn a final roster spot, it’s not lost on him the gravity of the opportunity that he’s been given.
"The football world is huge. When I look back at it and I was able to beat some of those odds of everybody who's trying to do this, you can't do anything but kind of sit back and just cry real quick because everything that you did was worth it. Everything that you did up to this point had to have been correct."
Coleman reports to Miami's rookie minicamp May 12-15 before their Organized Team Activities May 22-June 2.
