Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Elijah Simmons’ status updated ahead of the Tennessee-Virginia game.
Kickoff is slated for noon EDT and ABC will televise the season-opening matchup.
“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
Tennessee defensive lineman Elijah Simmons details switching to jersey No. 10 in 2023.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons enters his fifth season at Tennessee.
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.
Simmons will wear jersey No. 10 in 2023. He wore No. 51 prior to this season.
Simmons discussed having a different mindset wearing No. 10.
“Obviously, 51, he was a guy that he strained sometimes, he took off some plays, but he always wanted to finish,” Simmons said. “No. 10 continuously fights, strains and competes every day. Come out every day ready to play, ready to fight the next opponent. Each and every day, get better. That’s the main difference to me.”
Elijah Simmons sings National Anthem at Tennessee baseball game
Vols’ defensive lineman Elijah Simmons sings the National Anthem at the Tennessee-Wofford baseball game.
The contest ended in a run-rule decision during the seventh inning.
PHOTOS: Josh Heupel throws first pitch at Tennessee-Wofford baseball game
Tennessee redshirt senior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons also took part in pregame festivities. He performed the National Anthem ahead of the Vols’ game versus Wofford.
Simmons has appeared in 33 games for the Vols since 2019, recording 29 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and two pass deflections.
Simmons’ performance singing the National Anthem can be watched below.
Elijah Simmons sings the National Anthem ahead of the Tennessee baseball game. @901_hollywood_e pic.twitter.com/xqdARGQkfV
— Dan Harralson (@danharralson) May 2, 2023
Josh Heupel updates Elijah Simmons’ injury status during fall training camp.
Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during fall training camp Tuesday ahead of the 2022 season.
Following the Vols’ scrimmage, second-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media.
Heupel was asked about redshirt junior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons’ injury status.
“I think he’ll have an opportunity to participate here this next four-day block,” Heupel said of Simmons. “It was kind of a freak deal, but I don’t think it’s a long-term injury for him that will inhibit him in any way as we get closer to the season, but we got to get him back fully ready to go.”
Heupel also discussed if Simmons’ injury has set him back heading into the season.
“We’ll see when we get back,” Heupel said. “He’s been in great spirits. He said he’s feeling really good. We’ll figure out here as we get back on the grass here in a couple of days.”
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Spring practices: Rodney Garner details defensive lineman Elijah Simmons entering his fourth season at Tennessee
Tennessee practiced for the fourth time this spring Monday at Haslam Field.
Following practice, Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner discussed redshirt junior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons.
“I think Elijah definitely has done a good job losing some weight that he had gained,” Garner said. “I think he’s probably down 20 pounds, 25 pounds. Now we have to get his motor to mirror the weight loss. The motor is still running at that same weight, so that’s the next thing is to get him to move like he’s lighter than what he was and what he was doing before.
“It is good to see that he did have the discipline to do what they’ve asked him to do in the training room, weight room, conditioning, nutritionist, and all that. Now we just have to keep moving the needle in the right direction.”
The 6-foot-2, 340-pound Simmons has appeared in 20 games for the Vols from 2019-21. He has totaled 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and two pass deflections.
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Georgia players ‘should be banned’ for chop block against Tennessee.
ATHENS — Tennessee (2-1, 2-1 SEC) saw its eight-game winning streak end Saturday at Georgia (3-0, 3-0 SEC).
The Bulldogs defeated Tennessee, 44-21, in Week 3 of a 10-game SEC-only schedule.
During the early stages of the third quarter, Georgia was called for a chop block penalty against Tennessee’s defensive lineman Elijah Simmons.
The play has created discussion if chop block penalties should be treated equally as targeting calls.
Chop blocks should be treated equally as targeting.
— Dan Harralson (@danharralson) October 10, 2020
On 2nd and 10 for Georgia on Tennessee’s 15-yard line, with 13 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Bulldogs’ center Trey Hill and right guard Ben Cleveland blocked low, while rolling, against Simmons. Georgia was penalized for a chop block personal foul.
Former Tennessee defensive lineman Daniel Hood discussed Georgia’s chop block penalty in Saturday’s game.
“I do not think chop blocks are bad when they are straight on,” Hood told Vols Wire. “I think they are criminal when they come in at an angle like they did in Georgia’s case against Tennessee. If they roll after the chop, again, what happened at Georgia, they should be banned.
“The coach should be fined for teaching it that way, as a lot of coaches teach to roll, as well.”
During Hood’s playing career at Tennessee (2009-13), he experienced a chop block against him.
“I had one against me, and to this day, my patella tendon is still partially torn,” Hood said.
Jeremy Pruitt updates availability status for a pair of Vols ahead of Georgia game.
KNOXVILLE — No. 12 Tennessee (2-0, 2-0 SEC) will travel to No. 3 Georgia (2-0, 2-0 SEC) in Week 3 of a 10-game SEC-only schedule (3:30 p.m. EDT, CBS).
Ahead of the SEC East matchup, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt updated the status of two UT players for the Georgia game.
Pruitt mentioned that offensive lineman Jahmir Johnson and defensive lineman Elijah Simmons “will be available this week.”
Johnson started at left tackle in a season-opening win at South Carolina. He did not play in Week 2 against Missouri.
Simmons started at nose tackle in the Vols’ first two contests against the Gamecocks and Tigers.
2020 UT football player card: Elijah Simmons
Class: Redshirt freshman
Height: 6-2
Weight: 340
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
High School: Pearl-Cohn
Elijah Simmons turned heads immediately upon stepping on campus due to his size and strength at a young age, and redshirted his freshman season while appearing in three games.
Still a raw prospect, Simmons is an interior defensive lineman with a nasty edge that helped Tennessee in some goal-line packages in 2019, and figures to be a big part of the rotation moving forward despite the wealth of depth on the defensive line in 2020.
2020 Tennessee football.
KNOXVILLE — When Jeremy Pruitt took over as the head coach at Tennessee in Dec. 2017, there was a litany of flaws on a football team that was coming off a 4-8 campaign that saw Butch Jones fired.
Possibly the toughest challenge to overcome was Tennessee’s weakness in the trenches.
Both the offensive and defensive lines were devoid of talent and size needed to compete in the SEC. Heading into 2020, those two units are the only ones that return every starter from a 2019 season that ended with a six-game win streak and finishing 8-5.
One of the best pro prospects up front defensively for Tennessee is rising senior defensive end Aubrey Solomon. The former 5-star and Michigan transfer learned of his eligibility only days before the season-opener against Georgia State and finished the season with 28 tackles and three sacks. Another year in Pruitt’s system should benefit Solomon, especially as he is surrounded by more experienced talent.
NEXT (Continued): A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s defensive line in 2020
