At times, it can seem like anything goes in college sports. So, Penn State fans can be excused for dreaming about a Chaz Coleman reunion for the 2026 season after the star pass-rusher's relationship with Tennessee began to fracture. However, On3’s Pete Nakos has extinguished that hope.
Speaking with Thomas Frank Carr of Blue White Illustrated, Nakos was definitive about Coleman’s future with Tennessee, saying, “Where we are right now, June 2, I will be extremely surprised if he is a member of the Tennessee football roster this fall."
Good news, right? After following Jim Knowles to Knoxville and having off-field issues that have been described as homesickness, Coleman is ready to leave the Volunteers, either voluntarily or being dismissed from the program, and return to Happy Valley. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
“I don’t want to say that the only solution in college sports these days is to sue,” Nakos said, “But if Chaz Coleman is serious about playing college football in 2026 and he’s not a member of the Tennessee football program, I think his options are extremely limited. From the conversations I’ve had, I don’t believe that he can enter the portal unless Tennessee makes it extremely well-known and clear that they do not care what he does in 2026.
And here’s the kicker. “I’d just say the odds of him going back to Penn State or Ohio State are beyond slim.”
Chaz Coleman doesn’t have a clear path back to Penn State in 2026
Before Coleman arrived at Penn State last summer and broke out as the star freshman edge rusher from the 2025 class, Yvan Kemajou was getting all the love. Kemajou stayed, and with former freshman standout from the 2024 class, Max Granville returning from injury, Penn State has two young options at edge rusher.
Yet, you’d be silly not to welcome a player like Coleman back into the program, especially if the offseason issues that kept him away from Knoxville for the back half of spring ball and caused him to miss the start of mandatory offseason workouts are as benign as homesickness. While the reporting has been limited, it appears to be bigger than just that. Still, this is a player who posted a 22.1 percent pass-rush win-rate as a true freshman in the Big Ten with 15 QB pressures in 70 pass-rush snaps, so it’d be hard not to welcome him back with open arms.
It doesn’t appear, though, that Matt Campbell and Penn State are going to get that opportunity. At least not ahead of the 2026 season. The spring portal window is no more, and even if it were around this offseason, it would be too late for Coleman to enter it by now. So, assuming his situation with Tennessee doesn’t get rectified, he’ll likely be forced to sit out the season before reentering the portal next offseason.
At that point, Penn State would like be in the mix, presumably with Ohio State. Coleman is from Ohio, and the Buckeyes made a strong push to land him this offseason, but ultimately, they weren’t willing to match Tennessee’s offer. Next year, though, he may come at a discounted rate, either to Happy Valley or Columbus, as he looks to get his career back on track.
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