No. 1 ranked transfer portal player predicted to join College Football Playoff team

Penn State finished the 2025 regular season 6–6 and 12th in the Big Ten in a campaign that fell well short of preseason expectations.

The season included a midseason split with longtime head coach James Franklin, the program’s second all-time leader in wins (104), who has since taken the Virginia Tech job.

That shift in leadership (and the 6-6 finish) has accelerated roster movement into the portal, notably true freshman edge rusher Chaz Coleman, who formally announced his intent to enter the portal on December 18.

Coleman is currently ranked No. 1 in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, ahead of former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Wake Forest tackle Mateen Ibirogba, and Florida quarterback DJ Lagway.

On Josh Pate’s Monday segment, Pate explicitly named Ohio State as the likeliest destination and highlighted Coleman’s upside as a "future star" with a physical profile that suits the Buckeyes’ front.

"Chaz Coleman, big-time edge player, is going to go in the portal. He was a rotational guy as a freshman. Jessie thinks that he's going to be the future Abdul Carter, or at least he has the high-end potential to be that. He showed flashes of elite ability this year. Ohio State sounds like the favorite here."

"There are some people out there who want that rule where you cannot transfer from one team to another in the same conference, but that rule doesn't exist right now. So, he is free to go to Ohio State. He is from Ohio... Really good player, future star, may very well be headed to Columbus, Ohio."

Former Warren G. Harding athlete Chaz Coleman. — Sept. 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Warren G. Harding athlete Chaz Coleman watches warm-ups before Ohio State's game against the Marshall University Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium. | Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A four-star recruit, Coleman ranked as the No. 25 edge prospect and No. 8 overall player in Ohio in the 2025 class by Rivals and held more than a dozen Power Five offers, including Florida State, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Ohio State.

After visiting both Penn State and Ohio State on November 30, Coleman signed with the Nittany Lions in December 2024 and flashed clear upside in limited snaps as a true freshman in 2025.

He finished the year with eight tackles (six solo), three tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and two fumble returns for 48 yards.

As an Ohio (Warren) native, transferring to Columbus keeps him close to home and in a program with a consistent track record of developing NFL edge prospects.

That combination (fit + roots + prior interest) explains why pundits like Pate are already linking him to Ohio State.

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