The player Vols fans should thank for Kenneth Simon’s Alabama-to-Tennessee flip isn’t even on UT’s roster
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers pulled off a huge recruiting move on Saturday by flipping 2027 four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols made a big move on Saturday by flipping 2027 four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Simon, the son of former Tennessee linebacker Kevin Simon, committed to Alabama last month.
The Vols, however, never stopped recruiting him. And on Saturday, Simon, the No. 9 linebacker in the nation, decommitted from Alabama and committed to Tennessee.
A current Vols commit is to thank for Kenneth Simon flipping to Tennessee
While Heupel and the Tennessee coaching staff obviously put in a lot of work over the last month to flip Simon from Alabama, it’s a current Vols commit that may have been the most important factor in the decision.
Simon told Rivals.com’s Chad Simmons on Saturday that 2027 four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman invited him to Tennessee last weekend while on his official visit. Bowman has been committed to the Vols since late March.
It was during that impromptu trip to UT that Simon realized he was meant to be a Volunteer.
“My brother had a baseball tournament in Knoxville last weekend, and Kesean Bowman was on his official visit and invited me over,” said Simon “Being around him and those guys just brought me back to the realization that my family’s here. The dudes I’ve known since I was 11 or 12 years old, they’re all right here. They know more than football. They know Kenny personally.”
Bowman won’t officially be a Vol until next winter (he can’t sign until December), but this move clearly shows that he’s all-in on Tennessee.
(Simon provided more quotes on his decision in his interview with Simmons.)
Who knows what happens if Bowman doesn’t extend that invitation to Simon. Maybe he eventually flips to Tennessee anyway, or maybe he sticks with the Tide.
What we do know, though, is that Bowman’s extra effort helped seal the deal before the recruiting dead period (June 23-July 31) begins later this month.