Tennessee football: Ranking every starter from 2020 who returned by performance in 2021
Scouting Report. 14. player. Pick Analysis. Defensive lineman. Redshirt sophomore. Elijah Simmons. 839
6’2″ 350 pounds
Similar to Kenneth George Jr., Elijah Simmons was limited throughout the year due to injuries. However, also like George, he was able to play for most of the season, so we couldn’t leave him off this list the way we could LaTrell Bumphus, K’Rojhn Calbert or Aubrey Solomon. That limited production puts him down here on this list.
To be fair to Simmons, despite appearing in only seven games, his production slightly increased. He went from 10 total tackles to 11 and two solo tackles to four. Add in one and a half tackles for a loss and a pass deflection, and it’s actually impressive what he did for Tennessee football.
You could debate whether or not Simmons saw enough action in 2020 to belong here, but he started the first two games in 2020 and was a rotational player the rest of the way. As a result, he counts as a returning rotational guy, and his play is worthy of mentioning.
Transitioning to a 4-3 when he initially committed to be a true nose tackle in Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 defense had to be tough for Simmons, and the production that puts him down here shows that, but his future is clearly bright going forward. As a result, him being down here is not that big of a deal given everything he dealt with.