After graduating from Flint Central, Coleman enrolled at Michigan State University, then known as Michigan State College. He played principally at the tackle position for Biggie Munn's Michigan State Spartans from 1949 to 1951. At 178 pounds, he was the lightest player on the 1949 Michigan State football team. Coleman made up for what he lacked in size with quickness and intensity. Long-time Michigan State sports information director Fred Stabley in 1972 named Coleman as one of the two best players he saw at Michigan State and recalled that, despite his size, Coleman was "so quick and played with such intensity. He loved to play against big men. The 250 pounders were his meat." In 1952, the "Chicago Daily Tribune" wrote that Coleman "probably is packed with more football per pound than any man in the United States."