Chaz Coleman status?

[Sandman Vol]

The question is how much access are we entitled to have?

If Heupel's having problems at home and his decision making is less focused, do we have a right to his private life? He makes millions to be focused, so in your eyes...... we do?

Whatever is bothering Coleman seems to be not field related but perhaps family related, perhaps psych related, perhaps he got dumped after he moved, perhaps..... but he's not performing. So how much of his private life are we entitled to know?

If you're having issues at your house and your work suffers, does your boss have the right to say, "Is it in the bedroom? Is she stepping out on you? Can you just leave it at the door of work for God's sake, I'm paying you......"

None. You are entitled to nothing.

Unless you cut the check that paid that 3.5 mil directly, not your few dollars a month to volclub, you are entitled to nothing.

The only thing you are entitled to is to feel however you feel, right or wrong. That’s it.

 

[Sandman Vol]

Ya know, I wonder if in some weird world we could change college athletes NIL contracts to be solely "Performance Based", if Chaz would have been up on his feet, out of his comfy dorm and playing in the Orange and White game? I'd put big bucks on him being on the field if it meant receiving a paycheck from the UTAD. Homesick my buttski.

View attachment 826368​

They should all be performance based but enough rich people were willing to pay for potential that this is the situation we have. Is what it is.

 

[Sandman Vol]

Amazing the conclusions people will jump to without all the information.

“Our society is soft.”

It often is. But the bigger problem is that our society loves a black and white opinion more than information and nuanced analysis. The former takes far less effort than the latter.

Black or white and nothing matters beyond the headline.

Click based world.

 

[Sandman Vol]

These are the things that need fixed with the portal system.

A player can still leave a school at anytime and transfer to another school and traditional transfer rules still apply...I believe there are dates on that traditional rule as far sitting a season or not.
This needs to go away - if a transfer portal is going to exist, it needs to be the ONLY way a player can transfer.

"Tampering" - by multiple sources and accounts, tOSU has been actively having discussions with Coleman or an "agent" on his behalf while he is enrolled and on the roster at Tennessee.
This needs to stop and rules put in place similar to the NFL around this practice. Problem is how do you enforce those rules. in the NFL it's easy because everyone is drawing from the same bank and has the same caps, free agency windows, etc.

NIL Contracts need to be enforced and consequences written into the contract. Contracts may also be multi-year with incentives and such. Contracts should also be paid out in installments instead of a lump sum. If a player leaves say 3 months into signed deal, he forfeits the remainder of the deal and should have to pay some type compensation back to the originator of the contract.

All of that said, it is an even playing field in terms of us "doing the same". If Coleman is being lured by tOSU, we should be talking to an active player to replace him. It's not the best way to build a roster, or even right in my opinion, but if Jimmy and Joe are doing it, you better be doing it too.

The madness won't end until there are enforceable rules in place and a governing body that can enforce them.

F’ OSU. Hope their nipple ring wearing coach gets paternoed and their program SMUed.

 

[Sandman Vol]

Maybe homesick is an oxymoron and it’s his home that’s the problem. His family was apparently the reason last year during the season it was rumored he’d end up at OSU. It’s rumored his family convinced him to come here because we offered the biggest bag.

Maybe the family is the problem, in which case I understand how the coaches would be in a hard spot to help, but also you had to know this when you signed the kid so that’s kinda on them if they took a kid whose family they knew would be an issue.

Whatever the issue, I hope he can tune out the noise and the people/coaches/agents in his ears and lock in with the staff and players he’s got here around him. If he can do that, there’s no reason he can’t be a huge success here.

 

[UTwild82]

If it's the family, dude is making enough to move their azzes down here.

Get them down here, shut them up, get your azz back in the weight room, playbook, etc and earn that damn money.

I used to be a "poor kid" kind of guy, but he's making more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. I don’t want to hear this homesick bulls**t. Fix the situation or leave and leave all that money you took. People are losing jobs every day right now at a lot of large corporations. Zero pity for this guy.

 

[Tman44]

The last thing we need is a head case in the locker room. If he ain't happy, pay for his airfare out of Knoxville. Pay the NIL back or sue for it, as other schools have won in court. We only want players that are 100% committed and want to be at Tennessee. Mic drop

 

[NighthawkVol]

Well, the fans didn’t do this. We didn’t get 1,2, or 3 million bucks to play (not play) football. We aren’t the ones who didn’t show up to practice. We’re the one who keep getting priced out and told to shut up if we don’t have a nuanced opinion on player psychology.

I’m a fan too. Just not a victim.

Attempting to link increased cost of attendance to the right to spew opinions without knowledge of the facts is something. There was a time before our society got soft when that kind of behavior would’ve been called juvenile.

 

[Local Yokel]

I’m a fan too. Just not a victim.

Attempting to link increased cost of attendance to the right to spew opinions without knowledge of the facts is something. There was a time before our society got soft when that kind of behavior would’ve been called juvenile.

You’re so brave. Put it on your resume.

 

[guesscrazy]

He is gone. Tosu friend plays golf with big money boosters in Columbus and they say Chaz has a family member shopping him around. I was told this 2 weeks ago. This just sucks.

 

[Skooter]

Lot of hand wringing over a player with 6 tackles and 1 sack, which was against FIU, in one college season.

 

[JacketVol]

Code red him. Don’t kill him but bust him up bad.

 

[Swiftybaby]

Code red him. Don’t kill him but bust him up bad.

Since that worked so well with boo. DA

 

[Local Yokel]

Lot of hand wringing over a player with 6 tackles and 1 sack, which was against FIU, in one college season.

Well, when you let two DEs walk into the portal for this guy, it kind of matters.

 

[bpalmer28]

Since that worked so well with boo. DA

What happened to Boo is on Boo. We're not pursuing wives here and bending over backwards to serve them the way Christ served the church. We're pursuing football players. No matter how talented a player is, if he isn't pulling the same direction as the other guys, he is a hindrance to success. If I had to guess, we'd have already told him to kick rocks if NIL agreements hadn't complicated things. We're probably just trying cover our legal basis for a future lawsuit.

 

[wmcovol]

He could just bypass the portal like Retzlaff and Lucas did. I am not sure the NCAA closed that loophole when the made the portal window changes? But the new roster cap of 105 could be an issue at OSU for him. OSU has 112 now and expect to get to 115 by summer. He could end being the odd man out

Defensive End (8)​

Returners (4): Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (Starter in 2025), Zion Grady (Second-String in 2025), Beau Atkinson (Second-String in 2025), Epi Sitanilei (Redshirt in 2025)

Additions (4): Qua Russaw (Transfer), Khary Wilder (Freshman), Dre Quinn (Freshman), Darryus McKinley (Freshman)

Departures (5): Caden Curry (Senior), C.J. Hicks (Transfer), Dominic Kirks (Transfer), Logan George (Transfer), Joshua Mickens (Transfer)

Ohio State lost four reserve defensive ends to the transfer portal, but Hicks was the only one among them who was viewed as a candidate to play a significant role in 2026. While the Buckeyes missed out on their top transfer target in former Penn State defensive end Chaz Coleman, who went to Tennessee, they still added a talented transfer edge rusher in Russaw while retaining three of their top four defensive ends from last season in Jackson, Grady and Atkinson.

There’s some uncertainty as to who Ohio State can count on to play major roles in this group in 2026 outside of Jackson, but Grady looks like a star in the making while Atkinson and Russaw are veterans with plenty of experience from their previous schools (Atkinson transferred to Ohio State from North Carolina in 2024). A redshirt freshman in Sitanilei plus a trio of true freshmen led by Wilder, a top-50 overall prospect in the 2026 class, give Ohio State a promising group of young players to round out the defensive end depth chart.

How Ohio State’s Roster Stacks Up At Every Position With Transfer Portal Now Closed for 2026

With 44 new players on the roster and 47 players gone from last season, we look at how Ohio State’s 2026 roster stacks up at every position now that the transfer portal is closed.

www.elevenwarriors.com

The BYU guy was dismissed from the team. That allowed him the option. Coleman would have it I guess if Tennessee decided to let him go to save the $ which if he doesn’t want to be here, I’d say do it.

I’m not sure they’d kept Ross or Herring based on the money they wanted compared to their production (not much) but they had the money to pursue other edge guys. This is on Knowles/Poindexter if anyone. They knew this guy and said Tn needed him

 

[knox73]

Ranking the best players in the college football transfer portal

The transfer portal closed Jan. 16. Here's your guide to the best players on the move this offseason.

www.espn.com

Well Coleman’s agent surely laughed all the way to the bank and back. What a farce. “Voluntarily Retired” with 3 years of eligibility remaining. I guess a redshirt year will be needed while the Vols clawback/recover what they can from this unfortunate NIL blunder.

I suspect Josh and Knowles have had serious conversations how a mistake this huge was possible. It is indeed puzzling. Tennessee would end up with the highest rated dud in portal history following the Nico soap opera.

 

[CINCYVOL]

I don’t know why people are sharing the possible mental health issues. I’ve been a defender of Basilio a lot but it was absolutely wrong for him to out that out there. Either it’s true and it’s not his business to put it out there, or it’s false and it’s reckless to throw it out in public. It’s wrong either way. I told him the same thing.

I was listening to that episode and I thought the words “mental health” might have been thrown out in the discussion, but not lead with. I don’t care what the issue is really, these guys are paid mercenaries now, it’s all about production on the field and winning ballgames.

 

[OrangeInKy]

I was listening to that episode and I thought the words “mental health” might have been thrown out in the discussion, but not lead with. I don’t care what the issue is really, these guys are paid mercenaries now, it’s all about production on the field and winning ballgames.

I went back and listened again and he said he had mental health issues a few times . I paired in the chat and he got mad and gave me a “timeout” for saying he said it even when he denied he said it. That was the last straw. After 30 years, Im done and haven’t listened since that moment. It just kind of dawned on me that he’s an immature 60 year old who gets off on rage bait. I’ve heard he reads this board, I hope he sees this. He needs to grow up. Talking about “hearing” that a 19 year old has mental health issues is unprofessional. He says Heupel said the same thing but all Heupel said is “Hes working through some things” . That could be a breakup, grief, depression, etc, but just as you said, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what he does om the field, not why he has missed practice. Tired of gossip and all that noise.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

He is gone. Tosu friend plays golf with big money boosters in Columbus and they say Chaz has a family member shopping him around. I was told this 2 weeks ago. This just sucks.

Yeah we all totally believe you

 

[PMC2726]

Apologies if previously mentioned, but NFL teams do an insane amount of research in a guy before they draft him. The interviews alone are very high pressure. It’s not just about stats and film. If he’s staying off the field because of “issues he’s working through” NFL has already taken note. He’s hurting his draft prospects.

Please get on the field young man and use your issues as tackling fuel.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Apologies if previously mentioned, but NFL teams do an insane amount of research in a guy before they draft him. The interviews alone are very high pressure. It’s not just about stats and film. If he’s staying off the field because of “issues he’s working through” NFL has already taken note. He’s hurting his draft prospects.

Please get on the field young man and use your issues as tackling fuel.

Just my 2 cents.

As sad as it speaks for Volnation, the prevailing opinion is to hate on the young man despite watching him erode his NFL potential.

I get it that NIL has created a climate where many resent the players while insisting they love UT football. It's dumb.

If you don't appreciate the humanity of the players unless they perform, you might as well watch Robot Wars.

These young athletes are fully human, not perfect examples of nothing but football prowess. Even the best VFLs like Peyton are capable of literally showing their ass and not handling things well 100% of the time.

It's disgusting that "he's getting paid to play" overrides any sliver of Biblical compassion for a person having a hard time.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

You never said he wasn’t either. You gave us a lecture on the NIL number. Regardless of the number he’s not gonna walk away even though he probably doesn’t want to be here.

I wasn’t lecturing the number. The number isn’t the issue to me and wasn’t my intended point. We don’t know what the problem is or was. I am not down on him, it’s up to coach and staff and Chaz and his family. It’s like Swain said, nobody knows that isn’t close to the situation. GBO

 

[adam.vol]

Since that worked so well with boo. DA

It worked wonders with Boo. If not for the code red, we would not be satisfied with how he ran to Last Chance U.

Order the Code Red.

 

[FanDude]

I went back and listened again and he said he had mental health issues a few times . I paired in the chat and he got mad and gave me a “timeout” for saying he said it even when he denied he said it. That was the last straw. After 30 years, Im done and haven’t listened since that moment. It just kind of dawned on me that he’s an immature 60 year old who gets off on rage bait. I’ve heard he reads this board, I hope he sees this. He needs to grow up. Talking about “hearing” that a 19 year old has mental health issues is unprofessional. He says Heupel said the same thing but all Heupel said is “Hes working through some things” . That could be a breakup, grief, depression, etc, but just as you said, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what he does om the field, not why he has missed practice. Tired of gossip and all that noise.

If it is not too much trouble for you to tell us the subject of all this, who is "he?"