Penn State football to get rising star defender back vs Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, New Jersey − Penn State football will have one of its rising defensive stars back for the first time in a month.

True freshman defensive end Chaz Coleman has been cleared to play Saturday in SHI Stadium against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, according to school officials. He had missed the three previous games with an undisclosed injury.

The Nittany Lions need a victory here at Rutgers, in their regular-season finale, to become bowl-eligible. It could be their last game under interim head coach Terry Smith with a permanent hire expected in the coming days.

Coleman (6-foot-4, 246 pounds) should play for the first time since another strong effort at Ohio State. He’s certainly made his presence known in limited opportunities all season, from his impressive strip-sack and return against Florida International to his fumble recovery and run against the Buckeyes.

The Lions are still expected to miss backup quarterbacks Jaxon Smolik and Bekkem Kritza and, once again, may rely on senior receiver Liam Clifford to take over under center if starter Ethan Grunkemeyer cannot play, for any reason.

They will, however, have more depth at running back behind seniors Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. Backups Corey Smith and Quinton Martin return after missing last week’s Senior Day victory over Nebraska.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football defensive end Chaz Coleman to play vs Rutgers

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