Whenever Elijah Simmons turns to the side these days, he isn’t exactly invisible, but Tennessee’s redshirt junior nose tackle is lighter this spring compared to last fall.
Which is pleasing to often hard to please Volunteers defensive line coach Rodney Garner.
“Elijah has definitely done a good job of losing some of the weight that he had gained,” Garner said in a news conference that followed Monday’s fourth spring practice. “I think he’s probably down 20 pounds or 25 pounds, but now we’ve got to get his motor to mirror the weight loss. His motor is running at that same weight, so that’s the next thing – getting him to move like he’s lighter.
“It is good, though, to see he’s had the discipline to do what we’ve asked him to do.”
Simmons is listed this spring at 6-foot-2 and 340 pounds after being listed last season at 350, which may have been generous if Garner’s description of a 20- to 25-pound drop is accurate. The former three-star signee out of Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn High School explained Monday that he is doing extra work and watching what he eats.
When asked what he’s punted from his typical intake, Simmons smiled and said, “Fried food and burgers. I love burgers.”
Simmons would also love a healthy 2022 season after a knee injury limited his redshirt sophomore year to seven games that yielded 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He played throughout September but only competed in three games the rest of the way, missing Tennessee’s closing wins over South Alabama and Vanderbilt and its loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
“It was pretty hard,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t used to getting injured so much. I think this year will be a breakout year and be pretty good.”
Questions answered
Tennessee junior edge rusher Tyler Baron entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 6 before withdrawing the following day.
On Monday, he was asked what that was all about.
“During that period of time, personally I just wanted to ask a few questions,” Baron said, “and our coaches answered them. I’m where my feet are, and I’m happy to be here.”
Baron had 30 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks last season, but his productivity decreased with the emergence of Byron Young.
Cementing top spot
The Vols are the unquestioned rulers of the college baseball world following last weekend’s sweep of Ole Miss in Oxford, claiming the top spot in Monday’s D1 Baseball, Collegiate Baseball and USA Today polls. In fact, Tennessee (23-1, 6-0 SEC) received 30 of a possible 31 first-place votes in the USA Today poll, with Virginia claiming the other.
It was also Chase squared as far as the Southeastern Conference’s weekly awards, with sophomore Chase Dollander earning the league’s pitcher of the week and pitcher Chase Burns landing freshman honors. Tennessee had never earned pitcher and freshman recognition in the same week until Monday.
Bailey bids farewell
Victor Bailey Jr. announced Monday that he will use his sixth-year senior basketball season at George Mason, which is coached by former Vols assistant Kim English.
Bailey, who did not go through senior day festivities before the Vols topped Arkansas on March 5, averaged 9.6 minutes, 2.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per game this season. He made just 12 of 55 3-point attempts for a 21.8% clip.
During the 2020-21 season, the 6-4, 182-pounder from Austin, Texas, played 24.7 minutes per game, averaging 10.9 points and 2.0 rebounds and shooting 33.8% from long range (47 of 139).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.