Is Chaz Coleman Done at Tennessee? Rocco Becht & Penn State's Playoff Hopes | Pete Nakos

The Penn State football team is one of the more exciting teams for the second straight offseason. Last year, the Nittany Lions were aggressively attacking a National Championship run and entered the year as a top-five team. This year, they have a new head coach in Matt Campbell after all of that went south for James Franklin. On today’s BWI Live show, we discuss the way teams and national media view Penn State. We’ll also discuss the latest on former Penn State pass rusher Chaz Coleman and his situation with Tennessee.

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The state of Penn State after spring football

Nakos spoke with Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht this spring to discuss his recovery process from his shoulder surgery in the offseaosn. On today’s show, Nakos tells the story of how Campbell convinced Becht not to look at the open portal market and to follow him to Happy Valley.

“I went and talked to Rocco back this spring. And one of the things he talked about was one of the first things that Matt Campbell did when he knew he was seriously going to take that Penn State job, he called my dad, and he knew how much Matt knew how much he meant to Rocco’s family,” Nakos said.

Nakos puts Becht squarely at the middle of the converation about the team’s chances to make the playoff in his final college football season.

We also discuss the view of Penn State from the national perspective.

Easy schedule discussion

Of course, one of the biggest topics this offseason is Penn State’s perceived easy schedule. Not only is the non-conference a cake-walk, but the team avoids Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana this year. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other games fans should know about. We pick Nakos’s brain about the situation at USC and Michigan to understand what he thinks is up with the toughest games on paper for Penn State this year.

He also declares one Big Ten game a dark horse on today’s show.

Chaz Coleman’s situation

Finally, we discuss some national news surrounding the sport. The biggest story is obviously about former Penn State pass rusher Chaz Coleman. What’s the latest on the situation with Coleman? Fans will hear what’s going on with the coveted pass rusher and what his status is with the Volunteers. Finally, we discuss Coleman’s options for finding new scenery in 2026 and whether there’s a path back to Penn State.