With spring camp in full swing for Tennessee and Josh Heupel, there are plenty of newcomers turning heads, of course including 5-star freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon. Pass-rusher Chaz Coleman got off to a strong start too there, but things have quickly gone a bit south.
Tennessee reporter paints dark picture on the Chaz Coleman drama with the Vols
That's because several reports have surfaced stating that Coleman is beyond homesick, not adjusting to life well in Knoxville. This has led to him missing some practice time, which is of course a big-time problem for Heupel and new DC Jim Knowles.
Could this become an ongoing issue for the Vols leading up to the start of the new season? That'd be a massive issue and things are only made worse here thanks to insider Tony Basilio stating that Coleman's NIL deal for 2026 is around $3.5 million. Wait, seriously?
Apparently, Tennessee isn’t doing enough to “accommodate” former Penn State DE Chaz Coleman.
— Zach Seyko (@zach_seyko) April 9, 2026
$3.5 million wasn’t enough of an accommodation…? https://t.co/WrrdmmL27m
Tennessee is hoping to figure things out with Chaz Coleman as soon as possible
Once Coleman announced that he was going to be leaving Penn State to enter the transfer portal, plenty of people assumed he was going to end up playing for Ohio State. However, Knowles ended up joining Heupel's staff after one season with PSU, which opened the door for UT to get things done with the talented pass-rusher.
Coming out of high school, Coleman was one of the top EDGE prospects in the country and while he didn't quite live up to the hype in 2025, there's no question that the potential is still there for him to be a total game-changer next season. The expectations for him with the Vols are through the roof.
With that said, the off-field drama is a major concern. As we've previously written, on one hand you can be understanding of what Coleman is going through. He's a young man who quite clearly is not used to being this far away from home. We get that and don't want to sweep that under the rug or anything.
At the same time, if he's making over $3 million to be a stud for Tennessee, then Heupel and the Vols need to hold him accountable to make sure he's doing everything he can to earn that paycheck. The hope is things can get fixed as soon as possible, but this situation overall is a bit frustrating for the fanbase.