We are a long way away from October, but the Third Saturday in October will be here before you know it. Alabama shares a bitter rivalry with Tennessee in their border war of sorts. While Alabama has long had the upper hand in this rivalry series, an interesting wrinkle is developing on the Volunteers' side of things. It seems as though Penn State transfer pass rusher Chaz Coleman many not play for the Vols.
On3's Pete Nakos caught up with Thomas Frank Car of Blue White Illustrated on the brewing situation.
"I think Chaz Coleman's future at Tennessee is seriously in doubt. I think that at this point where we are right now, June 2, I will be extremely surprised if he is a member of the Tennessee football roster this fall. And I'll also be surprised, even if he is still part of the program, if he's playing meaningful football snaps for Tennessee. So that's where it kind of all stands."
Nakos did not beat around the bush over how unlikely it is that Coleman will ever suit up for the Vols.
"I don't want to say that the only solution in college sports these days is to sue, but if Chaz Coleman is serious about playing college football in 2026 and he's not a member of the Tennessee football program, I think his options are extremely limited."
He then poured ice water over the idea of him transferring back to Penn State, or even to Ohio State...
"From my understanding, I don't believe he can enter the portal, unless Tennessee makes it extremely well known and clear that they do not care what he does in 2026. So I'd say the odds of him going back to Penn State or Ohio State are beyond slim. I won't say it's zero percent because nothing's ever zero."
Here is Carr's entire conversation with Nakos about Coleman's situation at Tennessee on YouTube.
The chances of Coleman making any sort of impact in the Third Saturday in October are almost none.
Alabama, Kalen DeBoer must take advantage of Chaz Coleman's status
Yes, so much can happen between now and then, but the reality of the matter is this. If Coleman is to play for the Vols in any capacity this season, it will be nowhere close to the degree as what Josh Heupel and the rest of the Tennessee staff were hoping for. He hired Jim Knowles this past offseason to replace an ineffective Tim Banks to run the defense. Do you remember where Knowles was just at?
The idea of Knowles coming to Knoxville after one year in State College is to revamp this struggling Tennessee defense on the fly. While he was excellent at Ohio State and Oklahoma State before that, Knowles failed to live up to the success that his defensive coordinator predecessors of Tom Allen, Manny Diaz, and Brent Pry all had before him. Plus, his complicated defenses do take time to set root.
Read more: Alabama fans should have mixed emotions over 3 former assistants being on the hot seat
So even if this year's rendition of The Third Saturday in October will be in Knoxville, Coleman's status for the game, or this season for that matter, makes it all the more easier for Alabama to get a big SEC road victory. At this juncture, the Crimson Tide's two hardest games on their schedule are both at home vs. Georgia and Texas A&M. Splitting the pair and beating the Vols can get them into the playoff.
To tie a bow on this, if a college football insider such as Nakos is this down on a guy playing for a team, we should believe him. Nakos specializes in the unique intricacies of recruitment. The intel he has gathered on the developing situation should lead us to believe that Alabama might be a sizable favorite to beat the Vols in Neyland this season. That is a game that could have hung in the balances.
For now, it serves DeBoer and the rest of his Alabama staff to put more investment into other games.
Add us as a preferred source on Google