Elijah Simmons’ status updated ahead of Virginia game

Elijah Simmons’ status updated ahead of the Tennessee-Virginia game.

No. 10 Tennessee will open its 2023 season versus Virginia on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kickoff is slated for noon EDT and ABC will televise the season-opening matchup.

Third-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media on Thursday and provided an update on redshirt senior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons.

“We will know more, but a guy that has been great all of training camp and really all offseason,” Heupel said. “He will be out for this one, but we will see where that goes moving forward.”

The 6-foot-2, 340-pound defensive lineman has appeared in 33 games with the Vols, recording 29 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and two pass deflections.

Elijah Simmons sings National Anthem at Tennessee baseball game