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Tennessee football recruiting: Vols offer Washington athlete for 2021

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: A general view of one end zone at Neyland Stadium during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers on October 15, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 15: A general view of one end zone at Neyland Stadium during the game between the LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers on October 15, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football is looking far ahead on the recruiting trail. The Volunteers offered an athlete from Washington State for their 2021 class.

Well this is an interesting turn of events. Tennessee football entered the dead period picking up a commitment for 2019 at the last minute. They also offered a quarterback, the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, for 2020.

Now, it looks like they’ve extended an offer to a 2021 athlete. And they didn’t just go for any 2021 prospect. Jeremy Pruitt turned to the Northwest and targeted Takoma, Wash. prospect Julien Simon, who announced the Vols’ offer on Twitter.

Simon is obviously not rated yet by recruiting services, as he just finished his freshman year at at Lincoln High School. But he is clearly generating some serious buzz already for his play, as the Vols aren’t the first school to extend him an offer.

The Utah Utes, USC Trojans, Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon Ducks have all offered Simon as well. Tennessee football is the first program not in the Pac-12 to officially extend an offer to him, but you can bet more will come soon enough.

The 6’2″ 215-pound athlete lines up as a wide receiver and as a defensive back. Given his frame already, it’s understandable why teams want to get a head start on him. He looks like he’ll be a superstar in short time. Here’s a look at his highlight reel from his freshman year.

As you can see, he’s not afraid to go over the middle for plays on offense. At the same time, he can play in coverage or run up and tackle people on defense. His physicality is what really stands out, even beyond his speed.

Next: Top 15 prospects for Vols to pursue in 2019

If he keeps growing, Simon could potentially be a tight end, linebacker or even defensive end in college. He’s got that type of potential, and his physical play only enhances that possibility. Simply put, it’s easy to see why Tennessee football is going after him now.

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