Malachi Coleman’s path through the Big Ten has been anything but straight, but Sunday night gave Wisconsin a real glimpse of what the Badgers might have on their hands.
The former Nebraska wideout, who was officially listed as a backup, ended up being impossible to ignore against Notre Dame. Coleman paced Wisconsin with 4 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, and the score was the kind that sticks with you.
He put a double move on cornerback Jayden Sanders, froze him in place, then turned the opening into a 28-yard walk into the end zone. The touchdown tied the game at 10-10 early in the second quarter and helped keep Wisconsin within range after Notre Dame took a 13-10 lead into halftime.
Coleman wasn’t just productive; he looked like he belonged in the biggest matchups on the field. He caught one of only two passes that Leonard Moore allowed and also had the longest reception of the night against the All-American cornerback, a 13-yard grab. The other catch against Moore went for just 3 yards.
Afterward, Coleman sounded like a player who has already seen plenty of different locker rooms and defenses. Asked what it was like going against the Irish secondary, he gave them “credit where credit is due.”
“Very lengthy, very good with their hands, technique,” the former Nebraska star said.
He also had a clear-eyed assessment of what still needs cleaning up if he’s going to keep carving out a role. “I need to get a little bit better with my hands because they did get me with that jump jam,” he said.
“And then, just overall, physicality. Like them safeties coming down, they wanted to hit.
You got to be able to stick our faces in there.”
There was more to the performance than the box score. Coleman played 40 snaps Sunday night and was Wisconsin’s top offensive player according to Pro Football Focus. That kind of workload matters, especially for a player who entered the night as a backup and left it looking like much more.
Coleman is now on his third team in the Big Ten over four seasons. In 2023, he got meaningful run at Nebraska and finished with 8 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. He then sat out the entire 2024 season before transferring to Minnesota, where he played 174 snaps last year and caught 5 passes for 83 yards.
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