The latest twist in the Chaz Coleman saga doesn’t provide many answers for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols.

Coleman, a highly-touted EDGE who transferred from Penn State to Tennessee in January, missed most of spring practice while dealing with personal issues.

The Ohio native didn’t report for summer workouts earlier this week, leading to questions about his future with the Volunteers.

On Saturday morning, VolQuest’s Austin Price reported that Coleman returned to Knoxville on Friday, but his “future with the Vols remains unclear”.

Tennessee fans are still waiting on clarity with Chaz Coleman

Even though Coleman made it to Knoxville on Friday, it’s still anyone’s guess as to whether he’ll play for Tennessee this fall. He hasn’t been with his teammates for the last two months, and he certainly doesn’t appear to be “locked in” as the Vols start important summer workouts.

Heupel hasn’t said much about Coleman’s situation publicly, though he’s been supportive.

“Chaz has been dealing with some things, and we’re here to support him,” said Vols head coach Josh Heupel to On3 this past week at the SEC league meetings. “We’ll continue to go through that process.”

Price also reported this week that Tennessee reworked Coleman’s NIL deal, so he’s yet to receive the bulk of his money from the Vols (which protects UT financially against Coleman leaving the program).

The money part is important for Tennessee, but I think most fans are more concerned with whether Coleman is going to be rushing the quarterback while wearing orange and white this fall. Coleman, who played under new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles last season, is supposed to be a big part of Tennessee’s defense in 2026. The Vols have some quality options who can step up if Coleman isn’t part of the team, but Tennessee would obviously love to have the upside of the Penn State transfer on the field (there’s a reason UT aggressively pursued Coleman in the transfer portal).

We’ll just have to wait and see what transpires with Coleman and Tennessee from here.

I guess it’s a good sign that he’s back in town. But for now, we have no idea what it actually means.