Zero. Zilch. Nothing.

That's the amount of experience Florida State football wide receiver Keon Coleman had in returning punts in a game prior to this season.

But upon his arrival from Michigan State from the NCAA Transfer Portal this past offseason, Coleman requested FSU head coach Mike Norvell for the opportunity.

Despite the lack of experience, Coleman began the season as the punt returner for the No. 4 Seminoles. The decision paid off Saturday in a 41-3 victory over Syracuse at Doak Campbell Stadium.

That's in addition to his strong performance against the Orange receiving.

"Huh-uh," Coleman said if he lobbied Norvell to allow him to return punts since his arrival at FSU.

"I think it was a random practice in the summer. You do OTAs. Kicking it, we were just returning them. I didn't drop any. It looked good, so..."

Coleman finished with 107 kick return yards, including a 72-yard return he nearly took in for his first career punt return TD.

He had another 30-yard return called back due to a holding call.

"He's a playmaker. Not something he's done before he got here," Norvell said. "You say playmaking ability. He's got confidence, he believes in what he can do. That was a big I'd say question mark coming into the season of who is going to assume that role. He's embraced that.

"You saw last weekend a 30-yard return and this weekend a 70-yard return. I told him he's going to find his way into the end zone. It was really close."

Jayden Reed blocked Keon Coleman's path to return kicks at Michigan State

While a Spartan, Coleman did not have the opportunity to return kicks. That job belonged to Jayden Reed, who was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and is now returning punts at the next level.

Red had 13 punt returns for 114 yards last season. He had 12 returns for 238 yards and two touchdowns in 2021.

"You see what we have back there? We had one of the best returners in the country. That wasn't my job," Coleman said.

"I did it in practice. We had a great punter, too. Returned a lot of punts in practice in the last two years. When I got here, they didn't really know I could return punts. I'm like, Let me do it. I trust myself with the ball, so let me go back there. Now we here."

Keon Coleman ready to attack

Coleman admitted he's been told he's crazy for wanting to return punts. But he genuinely enjoys the aspect of the game.

He explained why during the postgame press conference.

"I like it. Everybody thinks I'm tripping, but I rather do that over kickoff return," Coleman said. "Punt return, you really control how hard you going to get hit, if you going to get hit. If you [are] scared, fair catch it. You know what I'm saying? If you [are] scared to catch it, let it go.

"You have full control back there. Like being a quarterback in a sense, you have full control of what's about to happen. That one play, you really can change the momentum of a game."

FSU specials teams coordinator John Papuchis told the media during a weekly press conference on Oct. 9 that Coleman was still a work in progress when it came to returning punts and judging which balls to field and which kicks he needs to allow to let go.

"One thing that we talk about with him every week is we want you to field all kicks, but if you don't feel like you can get there, don't try to be a hero at the moment and make a poor decision," Papuchis said of Coleman on Monday.

"Then also player to coach in terms of, trust Keon you know I think he's going to make what he feels like is the best decision in the moment. And if there are times we feel like we need to coach him on, 'Hey next time that shows up, this is what we'd like to do.'"

Running back Lawrance Toafili credited Coleman's mentality as the reason he's able to be an adept punt returner, despite the lack of reps back there prior to this season.

"He's ready to attack," Toafili said. "If you have one little missed block or somebody not covering down the right way, he's definitely going to take it."

Ryan Fitzgerald, Alex Mastramanno continue strong starts to season

Coleman was not the only player to shine on special teams for the Seminoles against Syracuse.

In the second quarter, kicker Ryan Fitzgerald was successful on a season-long 48-yard field goal (tied with a kick against Clemson) to push the Seminoles' lead to 10-0. He later added a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

For the season, Fitzgerald is now 7 for 7 on kicks and perfect on all 39 extra point attempts. Last season his performance was a bit more uneven, as he hit 12 of 20 FG attempts.

Punter Alex Mastromanno had four punts for 180 yards, averaging 45 yards per kick. He pinned three punts inside the 20 and had a long of 51.

He is averaging 47.6 yards per punt this season, which would eclipse the previous school record held by Shawn Powell of 47 yards in 2011.

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Keon Coleman: Receiver thriving as punt returner for FSU football