Former Penn State football edge rusher Chaz Coleman has yet to adjust to the big move from Happy Valley to Knoxville.
On Wednesday, Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Coleman has not reported to Tennessee for summer workouts. Though voluntary, his absence is notable given the rising sophomore also missed some of spring practices and the Volunteers' spring game at the end of April.
Since transferring to Tennessee, the combination of homesickness and lingering vertigo symptoms have continued impacting Coleman.
Tennessee EDGE Chaz Coleman has yet to report to Knoxville for summer workouts, sources tell @Clowfb and me for @On3. Voluntary workouts began earlier this week.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) May 27, 2026
Josh Heupel: “Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him. We’ll continue to go through… pic.twitter.com/gTTbmkMRYE
Former Penn State edge rusher Chaz Coleman has reportedly been absent from Tennessee workouts
According to CBS Sports, the edge rusher sustained a head injury while with the Nittany Lions and has been dealing with vertigo symptoms while adapting to being so far away from home. While Penn State wasn't an in-state choice for Coleman, roughly eight hours and 524 miles away from his home in Warren, Ohio is a significant jump compared to 180 miles and just under three hours away.
“[Coleman] has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel told Nakos on Wednesday at SEC spring meetings. “We’ll continue to go through that process.”
The Volunteers hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles after his one-season stint at Penn State. Adding Knowles was a huge boost for them when hitting the portal too, helping them pick up Coleman when going up against Ohio State and LSU.
While rumored to have dropped millions of dollars in NIL on Coleman, that's presumably not the prime factor in his decision to transfer to Tennessee; and neither is playing time. The four-star transfer and No. 3 edge rusher in the portal, per 247Sports Transfer Rankings, totaled eight tackles, three tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, one pass defended, and one interception across nine games as a true freshman. He played 144 snaps in his first collegiate season and was primed to be one of Penn State's next best edge rushers following defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton's departure to the NFL. While not a significant number of snaps in comparison to the team as a whole, that's more than decent for a true freshman with a high ceiling.
Coleman was also expected to stick around with the Volunteers, hoping Knowles would continue helping him reach and even surpass that ceiling. An insider gave a positive update and shared that it would be surprising if the edge rusher was not back out there. Now that summer workouts are here, the question is if it's surprising that he's not given the lack of attendance consistency since coming to Tennessee.
Losing out on untapped potential and talent due to homesickness is a major "what if" for the Volunteers, just as it is for Penn State.
Knowing Coleman was one of the most, if not the most, exciting true freshman to watch over the course of his career as a Nittany Lion makes this Tennessee update sting that much more. If Penn State matched an NIL deal or if he decided to stick it out with head coach Matt Campbell and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn regardless of the money, missing home may not have affected Coleman as much as it currently is. The Nittany Lions would still have one of their top guys in the defensive end room alongside Mason Robinson, Max Granville, and Iowa State transfer Ikenna Ezeogu.
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