Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 12 summer enrollees by potential impact for 2019

Of the three pure defensive linemen in this year’s recruiting class, Elijah Simmons is the one player who is not a junior college transfer. He is also a three-star recruit. As a result, it would make since to keep him further down the list than Darel Middleton, especially since he has less versatility.

However, Middleton may need to spend this season trimming a few or putting on a few. Simmons is a rare size who could immediately fill a void for Jeremy Pruitt, and that’s why we have him at No. 4 on this list.

Coming out of Nashville, Simmons stands at 6’2″ 350 pounds. He is an insane nose tackle and is perfect for Tennessee football’s 3-4 scheme. With nobody else that size in the rotation, Simmons already has a huge advantage, no pun intended, to make an immediate impact.

The 3-4 works best when one of the guys in the middle can get a major push and command a ton of attention. Pruitt has been going for size all across the defense for a while now, and that means a guy like Simmons can be a major factor in the rotation.

Don’t be surprised if Pruitt and Derrick Ansley turn to his size early looking to make an impact. Sure, there are plenty of other guys on the roster who can fill the void alongside Emmit Gooden, but Simmons’s size makes him unique.