Tennessee Football made one of the biggest transfer portal splashes of the cycle when it landed five-star EDGE rusher Chaz Coleman from Penn State in January. The pairing seemed to make all the sense in the world. He had multiple coaches already heading to Rocky Top under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and a few of his defensive teammates were also either committed to Tennessee or would commit later on. Plus, Tennessee was willing to pay, and Coleman was a prospect that commanded big money.
Since then, though, things have been a bit convoluted. Coleman missed much of Tennessee’s spring practice slate and was not a participant in the Vols’ Orange & White spring game in mid-April. CBS Sports insiders Chris Hummer, Matt Zenitz, and Richard Johnson shared some intel on the situation earlier this week.
“Sources tell CBS Sports the situation is driven more by a combination of physical symptoms, mental health strain and the pressure that has come with Coleman’s rapid rise over the past year from a fringe four-star recruit to a top-10 transfer and overnight millionaire,” the CBS Sports trio writes.
Rumors and speculation have run rampant at times in the recent weeks as people try to figure out what’s going on with Coleman and the Vols, especially considering the timing of taking place after a 2025 season that saw the Nico Iamaleava drama and the Boo Carter drama unfold.
But Hummer, Zenitz, and Johnson state that Coleman is “something different,” though.
“He’s not in trouble, and some in the Tennessee program, including teammates, are optimistic that he will be part of the team in 2026 despite his absence during spring practice,” CBS Sports writes. “Coleman remains in Knoxville around the team, and he even recently went to church with Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner.”
CBS Sports reports that sources have told them that there’s a combination of factors in play, including being homesick and feeling the pressure of his new high-paying status. There’s also an injury factor at play, with the insider trio stating that “he suffered a head injury at an unknown point during his time at Penn State that seems to have caused lingering vertigo symptoms.”
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A source inside the Tennessee program told Hummer, Zenitz, and Johnson that Coleman isn’t “a bad kid, he’s just got some personal issues right now.”
The report from CBS Sports lines up with what Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said about Coleman’s absence during the Vols’ Orange & White Game just over two weeks ago:
“Ultimately, Chaz is dealing with some things off the field and he’s got to handle that and go through that process,” Heupel said. “We’re here to help and support him in all of those ways and will continue to do that. But that’s ultimately the beginning part of his journey right now. Some things he has to work through.”
In his freshman season in Happy Valley, Coleman produced eight tackles, three tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, a sack and a forced fumble. He battled an injury that shortened his season to just nine appearances, but he still led all FBS freshmen in pass-rush grade last season at 90.3, according to PFF. Coleman took that first-year success and entered the transfer portal, quickly becoming one of the top players on the market.
Once he entered the portal, 247Sports ranked him as a five-star prospect, the No. 7 overall transfer player, and the second-ranked EDGE rusher. At Tennessee, Coleman is projected to play at the LEO spot. That is primarily coached by Andrew Jackson, who also has previous experience with Coleman at Penn State. Other names in the room include Tulane transfer Jordan Norman and second-year edge rusher Christian Gass. The Vols got gutted at the spot this offseason, losing Joshua Josephs to eligibility and Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring to the transfer portal.
While there’s still no indication of exactly how this situation will unfold, Tennessee fans may draw some optimism from the culture that the Vols have built inside the building over the last handful of years during the Josh Heupel era. It doesn’t mean that anything is guaranteed, but perhaps it helps sort things out over the summer. That, combined with the familiar faces that he’s got in the building from his Penn State days, could be something to watch for in a positive light.
