Days after his absence at the voluntary workouts of the Tennessee Volunteers made headlines, defensive lineman Chaz Coleman was reported to have been dismissed from the program. However, new reports have debunked these claims, emphasizing that he remains a part of the team.

Per Vol Scoops, a verified X account that gives reports on the Vols, Chaz Coleman has not been dismissed from the program. This renders the report from former Vols assistant coach Doug Matthews false. Matthews had made the claims about his dismissal on 104.5 The Zone’s Big Orange Sunday.

“Chaz Coleman, young man who came in at the transfer portal from Penn State,” former Vols assistant coach Doug Matthews said on 104.5 The Zone’s Big Orange Sunday. “I think he is a redshirt sophomore. Touted player, but young, inexperienced. But really, he was being counted on prior to being the starter there, edge rusher, I would think. No longer with the program. I would think it’s probably pretty mutual, but he was dismissed this past week after I think that was as good an effort as coach Heupel and the staff could have made to keep him there. Didn’t work out.

“Those things happen, right? Don’t know a whole lot, but he would have done it if he had stayed there. But bottom line, he is not there. And that now puts that one position maybe a little tenuously right now.”

Despite that Matthews mentioned Jordan Norman and some of the Vols’ talented edge rushers as Coleman’s replacement, no one is taking his place for now. As things stand, Heupel’s statement about the program helping him navigate the process is true. Following the Orange & White Game, Heupel discussed the state of things with Coleman.

“Ultimately, Chaz is dealing with some things off the field, and he’s got to handle that and go through that process,” Heupel said. “We’re here to help and support him in all those ways, and we’ll continue to do that, but that’s ultimately the beginning of his journey right now, and there’s some things he has to work with.”

One month later, Coleman does not seem to have resolved the issues, as he has not yet joined the rest of the team in Knoxville for their summer workouts. At the moment, fingers remain crossed as to how the matter with him and the program unfolds.

What is going on with Chaz Coleman?

A CBS Sports report from April provided some insight into what might be going wrong with him.

“When talking to sources about Coleman’s situation, they tend to point to three things: He’s homesick and feeling the pressure as a newfound millionaire; he suffered a head injury at an unknown point during his time at Penn State that seems to have caused lingering vertigo symptoms; and then there are concerns about his tardiness and engagement level early in his Vols tenure,” read the report.

Coleman made the move to Knoxville via the transfer portal in January. He was coming off his freshman season, where he appeared in five games and recorded eight tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and one pass deflection. However, Penn State fired James Franklin mid-season, which incited his desire to leave.

Being one of the top players in the transfer portal, he was wooed by the Buckeyes, who had tried to earn his commitment before he moved to Penn State. His high school, Harding, is about an hour from the Columbus campus. And per BroBible, he is familiar with faces around OSU. Notwithstanding, the Vols were his eventual picks because he was unwilling to accept a discount to join Ohio State.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder not only missed most of the program’s spring practice, but On3’s Pete Nakos recently reported that he has carried the trend into the summer workouts. He was a four-star prospect from Warren, Ohio, and he was ranked the No. 25 defensive lineman and the No. 8 prospect from the state of Ohio.