Report: Former Penn State Football Player Chaz Coleman Dismissed From Tennessee
Former Penn State football defensive rusher Chaz Coleman has left Tennessee’s program, per On3’s Pete Nakos and Chris Low.
It’s the latest chapter in what has been a whirlwind of a year for the very talented pass rusher.
Coleman was a four-star recruit out of Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, and was the major coup of James Franklin’s final recruiting class at Penn State. Ranked as the No. 9 player in Ohio and a top-300 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Franklin and his staff emerged as leaders in his recruitment early, preceding his ultimate breakout in a similar fashion to Drew Allar in 2022.
Despite hometown Ohio State offering him in October 2022, shortly after he committed to Penn State, Coleman didn’t waver and ultimately signed as one of the team’s top prospects in the Class of 2025.
Throughout the prelude to the most anticipated season in decades for the football program, Coleman was consistently lauded as the most impressive freshman. Franklin listed him as one of two “green lights”, which meant that the team would freely use him right away, and he immediately showed out in a backup role against FIU with a strip sack and 39-yard fumble recovery.
His role would be limited as Big Ten play began and everything fell apart. Franklin’s firing sent shockwaves through the roster, community, and the college football world, and suddenly every Nittany Lion was in the crosshairs of opposing programs as potential ship-jumpers.
The lone conference game that Coleman made a serious impact in was the loss to Ohio State in early November, where he recovered a critical fumble late in the first half to keep Penn State in range against the defending national champions.
After that game, Coleman mysteriously vanished. He missed the following three games with injury and played just seven total snaps in the team’s final five games, but there was no clarification beyond that. His injury was never elaborated on by the program or himself, and he seemed to be day-to-day for essentially three weeks straight. Rumors circulated that he was being advised to sit out to protect his future offseason value.
In the end, he entered the transfer portal in December, immediately becoming one of the most sought-after transfers of the cycle.
The three major schools that were in on him were his hometown Buckeyes, LSU, and Tennessee. The belief heading into his recruitment was that Ohio State was the favorite, but they never seemed very involved in the overall bidding. It would be Tennessee who won out, offering Coleman a reported $2 million NIL package and reuniting him with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
But as spring practice and summer workouts unfolded, there were reports of Coleman struggling in Knoxville. From reports of being homesick to being absent from team workouts, there were only a few moments when Coleman appeared comfortable at his new home.
Due to new ghost transfer rules that disincentivize circumventing the portal window, it appears unlikely that Coleman will play for anyone in 2026 and will enter 2027 with three years of eligibility at whatever institution he attends next.
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