Chaz Coleman Remains Away From Tennessee Summer Workouts

chaz coleman remained away from Tennessee as summer workouts began this week, extending an absence that started during spring practice and has kept the transfer defensive end off the field for most of the offseason. Tennessee beat out Ohio State and LSU for him after paying around $2 million, so every missed session now sits under a sharper spotlight.

Josh Heupel on Coleman

Josh Heupel addressed Coleman’s situation during the SEC spring meetings in Destin and said, "Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him. We’ll continue to go through that process." That was the clearest public explanation for why Coleman missed most of Tennessee’s spring practices because of personal reasons.

Coleman’s profile made the wait more noticeable. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 17 overall prospect in the transfer portal this offseason, and Tennessee went out and beat Ohio State and LSU for his commitment. For a player recruited at that level, being unavailable through spring and then still missing the start of summer workouts changes the discussion from talent to availability.

Campus Return in Knoxville

There was one small step back toward the program on Friday, when Coleman was back on Tennessee’s campus according to Austin Price. He had also posted photos to his since-deleted Instagram account earlier this month showing him holding stacks of cash, a detail that added another layer to a situation already defined by gaps between expectation and participation.

That is the part Tennessee has to sort through now. The program invested heavily to land Coleman, and Heupel has publicly framed the response around support rather than deadlines. Until Coleman is back in the rotation for summer work, the story stays centered on whether the Volunteers can get the edge rusher from offseason headline to actual snap count.

Ohio State and LSU

Ohio State also felt the impact of the chase. After missing out on Coleman, it signed former Alabama edge rusher Qua Russaw. Tennessee, meanwhile, still has the player it targeted, but his offseason has already included missed spring work, an absence at the start of summer workouts, and only a brief return to campus on Friday.