Brandon Coleman, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound receiver from Rutgers, signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie free agent. He played 39 games for Rutgers recording 94 receptions for 1,808 yards (19.2 avg.), and matched the Scarlet Knights school record for receiving touchdowns by catching 20 in his career.
Coleman is today's Rookie Spotlight.
What was your biggest takeaway from OTAs?
Just the tempo of the game and just how to play at the pace. Just how to be a pro on and off the field. Now I just took that, went home with it for three weeks and then came back and tried to just incorporate that into this camp.
Did knee affect you on field in OTAs?
You could say that or you could look at the film and make your opinion about it. But I'm just going to keep working at it and keep working to strengthen it so it won't be a problem on the field.
In talking with fans watching practice, they noticed that number 16 gets the ball a lot. Does that make you feel good that people who don't know you are looking at you?
"I understand that people are not going to know who I am right off the bat. It's my job to get the coaches to notice me. Right now, the fans can say all they want but it's my job to get the coaches to notice me."
What do you attribute your success to? Do you know what you're doing so you are playing faster?
"Yeah obviously the more you know, the more comfortable you are. You're not thinking a lot, thinking as much, and you're just playing fast. That's the key to this game: just playing fast."
Are you learning a lot from a veteran like Marques Colston?
"Yeah Marques and Robert Meachem, they're teaching me a lot."
If somebody is going to ask you why you should make this team, what do you tell them?
"I'm a developed receiver. I can stretch the field, I can block in the run game, and I can do everything."
Are you fired up by negative reviews of dropped passes in OTAs?
I don't really pay attention to all that. I just know what I'm capable of, and I know that I've got to continue to work every day. … You know, you're going to have some drops. But you've got to try to minimize those drops. And you just got to keep moving forward.
How do you compete with vets for a roster spot, yet they still help you out?
It's just a part of the culture here. I'm pretty sure a lot of teams aren't like that around the league, but this culture right here is a winning program, first and foremost. It's a first-class organization. And just that winning culture, the older guys try to teach the younger guys, because they understand that one day we're gonna be in their shoes and we're gonna be responsible to do the same thing to the next class.
