On Thursday, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that a Penn State star edge rusher is expected to enter the transfer portal after just one season in Happy Valley. The news landed before the portal officially opened in January, but the reaction across the Big Ten was immediate. And head coach Ryan Day is positioned to benefit if things go according to plan. 

“Penn State DL Chaz Coleman will enter the transfer portal,” The Silver Bulletin posted on X on December 18. “Coleman, an Ohio native, is one of the best athletes in college football and will certainly have many suitors, including Ohio State, in the portal. Buckeyes should be heavily involved here.”

Ohio State was already all in on Coleman during his high school recruitment and never fully exited the picture. Despite the portal not opening for another two weeks, the program has been labeled the favorite in multiple circles, and the appeal is understandable. 

The true freshman edge rusher himself is a Warren, Ohio native. Both geography and familiarity matter. Ryan Day and his staff evaluated him as a high-priority edge before Penn State landed him, and nothing from his freshman season diminished that evaluation. So, now seems the best time to take him in and show what an elite Buckeye program can do to a star with potential. 

Penn State message boards and social media have been blunt about where this appears to be heading. One post read, “Going to suck watching him tear it up at Ohio State.” Another joked that he already had a place picked out in Columbus. When rival fan bases start agreeing on an outcome, it is usually because the signals are strong.

From a football standpoint, Coleman was given the green light by James Franklin’s staff before the season. He played in nine games as a true freshman, burning his redshirt. He finished the regular season with eight tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a pass breakup. But those numbers only tell part of the story.

Coleman was also named an On3 True Freshman Midseason All-American and currently sits top two on On3’s list of the top 10 transfer portal players. More importantly, he posted a 22.1 percent pass rush win rate, the highest on Penn State’s roster and the 10th-best nationally among pass rushers with at least 70 snaps. 

For Penn State, the loss cuts deep. The player’s breakout game against Villanova in Week 2 offered a glimpse of his ceiling. He logged four solo tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a recovery, and multiple passes defended. With senior Dani Dennis-Sutton set to depart after the 2025 season, he was viewed internally as part of the next defensive core. Losing him now accelerates an already difficult transition. That transition did not begin with Coleman, and it may not end with him either.

Matt Campbell delivers a raw portal message for Penn State

New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell, who signed an eight-year contract with a guaranteed $70.5 million, walked into a fractured environment. He met with players collectively and individually, even soliciting feedback from those out of eligibility about what worked and what failed. National Signing Day had already passed. Only two players signed in Penn State’s 2026 class. Culture repair became priority one. According to safety King Mack, he was direct. 

“[Coach Campbell] said, it’s his job to fix [the issues],” he said. “And he said, straight up, he doesn’t want no one who doesn’t want to be here to be here. So we had a team meeting, and they made it very clear, if you don’t want to be here, the door is open.”

Matt Campbell made it clear he would not retain players who were not fully invested. That clarity is healthy long term but short term, it comes at a cost. Chaz Coleman appears to be one of those costs.

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For Ryan Day, this is a rare alignment of need, opportunity, and leverage. Ohio State values proven pass rushers, especially ones young enough to anchor multiple seasons. Chaz Coleman checks every box. If the Buckeyes close, it will not just be a recruiting win. It will be a direct extraction of elite talent from a rival trying to rebuild its foundation.