Justin Coleman wasn’t thinking about going anywhere else.

The University of Nebraska-Omaha was where he decided to play his entire college football career and he intended to see it through. But when the Division II Mavericks moved to the Division I Summit League in 2011, the university decided to drop the football program for financial purposes.

The move left Coleman without a team, and a surreal feeling about what had just happened.

“I planned on playing four or five years there. I played my first two years there and going into my junior year, I was expecting to be a leader,” Coleman said of Nebraska-Omaha. “We hadn’t done captains or anything yet, but I was hoping to be a captain and be able to make a lot of plays. I wasn’t thinking about going anywhere else.”

Coleman learned of the decision by the university to drop the football program in right before Nebraska-Omaha’s spring break period in 2011. That week, ISU tight ends coach Bill Bleil reached out to Coleman to look at Iowa State to continue his football career.

Coleman visited Iowa State twice that spring — once for a practice and once for the spring game — and liked what he saw from the Cyclones from an offensive standpoint. The opportunity to compete for a spot in the lineup as a walk-on also drew him to Ames.

“[Coach Bleil] took me in and gave me the opportunity to come and walk-on and see if I could earn a scholarship,” Coleman said. “Luckily after three years I did enough work and had the opportunity to do that.”

Coleman earned that scholarship this fall on the eve of Iowa State’s fall camp. In his debut as a starting wide receiver on Saturday — a 28-20 Iowa State loss to in-state rival Northern Iowa — Coleman was the leading receiver for the Cyclones with four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Coleman’s first reception of his ISU career was the one that resulted in a trip to the endzone. Quarterback Sam Richardson tossed it over the middle to Coleman for 59 yards and Iowa State’s first scoring trip. 

Richardson feels the connection with Coleman has been a strong one throughout fall camp and the first game.

“He’s a steady wide receiver. He made the catches when the ball was thrown to him and did something with it afterwards. He definitely had a great game,” Richardson said of Coleman. “He made big blocks all over the field; it wasn’t just the catches. He’s a steady receiver and knows what he is doing. He obviously played well and that’s exciting for us.”

In addition to his play at the wide receiver position, Coleman also is the holder for extra points and field goals. He was a holder in high school in Beatrice, Neb., and felt very comfortable with his experience to be able to be a holder at the collegiate level.

“He is what our fans like. He is an unknown,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads regarding Coleman. “He’s just out there making plays on special teams; he’s a holder on PAT’s and field goals and catching touchdown for 50-plus yards.”

It was Coleman’s 59-yard touchdown reception that felt just as surreal as when he first heard of Nebraska-Omaha’s decision to drop the football program he originally hoped to be at for his entire career. His first reception as a Cyclone was on the opposite end of the spectrum from that feeling.

“Right when I got off the ball, I was looking downfield and it didn’t look like anybody was going to be there but a bunch of green grass,” Coleman said. “I didn’t hear a whole lot of the fans, but I’m sure it was loud.”