Tennessee football’s top 10 in-state players for 2022
8. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive lineman. Junior. 839. Elijah Simmons. player
6’2″ 340 pounds
Another player from one part of the state who went to high school in another, Elijah Simmons hails from Shelby County, Tenn., but moved to Davidson, Tenn., and attended Pearl-Cohn High School. Now in Knox County, Tenn., he truly went from Memphis to Nashville to Knoxville, hitting all three spots of the state.
Recruited as a nose tackle in Tennessee football’s 3-4 system, it’s a bit of a surprise that Simmons stayed around with the switch last year to Tim Banks’ nickel-heavy 4-3. However, he still saw a decent bit of action, registering one and a half tackles for a loss, a pass deflection and 11 tackles, four of which were solo.
That all came despite him battling injuries, which forced him to share time with Da’Jon Terry. This year, Simmons is fully healthy, and he dropped 10 pounds. Combine that with all the departures Tennessee football suffered at defensive tackle, and he should see a huge role.
As a result, despite likely still just being a rotational player, it’s hard to leave Simmons off this list. He’ll probably be No. 3 in the rotation among interior defensive linemen, and there will be times where he’s the main guy up front depending on the situation.