Tennessee prized transfer Chaz Coleman no longer with Vols football program
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One of the most coveted transfers in college football last offseason won’t be seeing the field this season — at least, not with the program he committed to play for.
Tennessee edge rusher Chaz Coleman, who enrolled at the school in January after transferring in from Penn State, has been medically disqualified and is no longer a member of the Vols’ program, a university spokesman told the Knoxville News Sentinel, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
Coleman was rated as the No. 3 edge rusher and No. 16 overall player in 247Sports’ transfer rankings. He committed to Tennessee, where he followed defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and two other assistants under whom he had played as a freshman last season at Penn State.
The 6-4, 240-pound Ohio native had missed the second half of spring practice due to what Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said were personal matters. Then, in late May, he didn’t report to the start of summer workouts.
“Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him,” Heupel said on May 27. “We’ll continue to go through that process.”
Coleman’s exit about two months before the start of the 2026 regular season is a blow to a Tennessee defense that will look to make significant strides in its first season under Knowles. Last season, the Vols finished tied for 91st nationally in scoring defense, giving up 28.8 points per game, and 92nd in total defense, allowing 397.2 yards per game.
In nine games last season for Penn State, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Coleman had three tackles for loss and one sack. He showed some of the disruptiveness that made him a four-star recruit coming out of Harding High School in Warren, Ohio. In just 70 plays, he recorded 15 quarterback pressures.
He was limited by injuries late in what had been a tumultuous season for the Nittany Lions, who fired longtime head coach James Franklin in October following a 3-3 start.
“He has a little bit of an invisible cloak, where he can twist and turn, beat guys one-on-one,” Knowles said of Coleman on Feb. 19. “He has great initial quickness off the ball. He’s a guy that can create havoc for an offense and really creates a matchup issue.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Tennessee prized transfer Chaz Coleman no longer with Vols football program
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