Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
2 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FRESH LEGS Newcomer Chaz Coleman has energized Penn State's defensive end corps NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M After stripping the ball from Florida International quarterback Joe Pesansky, Coleman picked it up and ran 39 yards to set up a late touch- down in the Lions' 34-0 victory. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL P enn State head coach James Franklin had already gone two minutes at his weekly press conference when he caught himself. Asked about the early- season performance of breakout true freshman defensive end Chaz Coleman, he had answered honestly. He also eventually noticed how long he'd been speaking about the former four-star prospect from Warren, Ohio, who in recent weeks has helped deepen a defensive end corps headlined by senior All-America candidate Dani Dennis-Sutton. "I think he's just going to continue to get better," Franklin said of Coleman. "He's only played defensive end for two years. I think he's got a chance to just take leaps and bounds each game. He's getting comfort- able with the routine. Obviously, Dani is doing a really good job of being a mentor to him. Dani can be kind of tough love from time to time, but I think that's been good. "I think Deion [Barnes, PSU's defensive line coach] and the staff have done a really good job with him. He's also just a really, really humble, hard-working kid. I would anticipate him continuing to get better and better and better." Franklin wasn't finished. "I think the more reps, more plays, more opportunities and more experience he gets, the more production will come. He's an exciting young player, and he's an awesome young man. His family has done a really good job of raising him. But I'm not going to talk about him too much, be- cause I want to keep him humble and hungry." That challenge got a little more difficult two days after the Nittany Lions' 34-0 victory over Florida International in Week 2, with Coleman picking up multiple accolades for his performance against the visiting Panthers. Finishing as the top-graded of all the Nittany Lions' defenders by Pro Football Focus with a 93.7 mark — more than 10 points higher than the unit's next-best grade — Coleman was named On3's True Freshman of the Week and Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' "Defender of the Day" for the FIU game. The 6-foot-4, 246-pound freshman finished fourth