Injury report gives Penn State a major boost with bowl eligibility on the line in Week 14

There hasn’t been much good to take from Penn State’s 2025 season. A team built to win a national championship is still one game away from bowl eligibility, heading to Rutgers in Week 14. One of the biggest bright spots, though, has been true freshman defensive end Chaz Coleman, and he’ll be back in the lineup on Saturday. 

The former four-star hasn’t seen the field since suffering an injury in Penn State’s Week 10 loss to Ohio State. However, he is still fourth in quarterback pressures on the Nittany Lions defense, and leads the team in pass-rush win-rate at a staggering 22.4 percent. 

Coleman was not listed on Penn State’s availability report ahead of kickoff on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, so he is cleared to return from his injury and will play in the regular season finale. 

True freshman EDGE Chaz Coleman set to play for the 1st time since Week 10

Coleman's return to the field isn’t just a positive for Penn State’s bowl eligibility chances; it’s massive for the program long-term. Coleman has played like a future superstar in his limited action this season, and if he’s willing to risk injury playing in the final game of the season, that’s a good sign for Penn State’s chances of keeping him in the program beyond 2025. 

If he were to enter the transfer portal, Coleman would be one of the most highly sought-after players in the country this offseason. He’s a game-changing talent off the edge who, despite not being the top recruit in Penn State’s 2025 class, was one of the first true freshmen to earn the green light from James Franklin to burn his redshirt. 

The potential issue, however, is that Coleman’s loyalty to Penn State may be tied to Terry Smith’s future in Happy Valley, and he’s not the only one. Seemingly, Penn State’s entire roster is pushing for Smith to have the interim tag removed by athletic director Pat Kraft. The fanbase is, too. 

On Saturday, with Coleman set to make his return to the field, someone paid for a plane to fly around Piscataway, New Jersey, with a banner that reads, “Pat Kraft – Hire Terry Smith.” 

Smith doesn’t have the best resume among the candidates to replace Franklin. As an interim head coach, he began his tenure with three straight losses, including two blown fourth-quarter leads, before beating up on Michigan State and a Nebraska team down to its backup quarterback. However, if it were a guarantee that hiring Smith would keep Coleman in Happy Valley, that’d be at least a small factor in the decision-making process.