When the Transfer Portal was open, the Ohio State football team was crushed for not landing Chaz Coleman. Coleman was seen as one of the best players available in the portal. He was certainly seen as one of the best defensive players after he decided to leave Penn State.
Coleman, who is from Northeast Ohio, decided to head to Tennessee. He followed Jim Knowles, who had to go to Tennessee after James Franklin was fired in Knowles' only season with the Nittany Lions. Now, it doesn't seem like things are going well for him there.
In the Spring, there were rumors that Coleman was regretting heading to Knoxville. It seemed that Ryan Day had dodged a bullet when that news came out. Now, after another turn in the Coleman saga, it seems Day truly did the program a service by not taking him in.
Latest Chaz Coleman news shows Ohio State dodged a bullet with his recruitment
Coleman is not with the team for offseason workouts. It seems like he is uninterested in the program for whatever reason, despite getting a ton of NIL money to head to Knoxville. Head coach Josh Heupel had a statement on Coleman and his whereabouts.
“Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him. We’ll continue to go through that process.”
At this point, it is unclear what the issue with Coleman is. He has sent out cryptic social media posts and not done a lot on the field. For someone so talented, he has yet to prove anything on the field. Coleman had just six tackles as a true freshman last year.
All of this distraction is not worth the price that was paid for Coleman. Day was smart enough to see that and avoid the distraction that Coleman would have become. All he would have done is create drama in the offseason, which is not something that a team with national championship aspirations needs.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are better off without Chaz Coleman
When they didn't land Coleman, Day focused his efforts on other players from the Transfer Portal. He added James Smith, Qua Russaw, and John Walker. All three are expected to play major roles for the Buckeyes this season. All of them are more mature than Coleman, as well.
This experience might teach Ohio State fans to trust Day a little bit more when it comes to his portal evaluations. Other than the Ethan Onianwa disaster, he hasn't had any major whiffs from the portal. He is someone who can clearly identify talent and maximize that talent.
While Knowles will struggle to get any production from Coleman, Ohio State will focus on winning titles. After this disaster, there is no chance that Ohio State will ever welcome Coleman on campus if he decides to transfer again. Day has seen this from afar and probably won't want to deal with this.
It remains to be seen if Coleman ever plays a down for the Volunteers at this point.
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