Tennessee addresses a problem area with a big pickup — literally — on the eve of early signing period
Josh Heupel picked up a commitment in a key area one day before early signing day begins.
The Tennessee Volunteers had one of the deepest and most dominant defensive fronts in all of college football in 2024, which helped propel the Vols to the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
Things looked far different in 2025, as the depth and top-end talent wasn’t nearly the same as it was the season before. And it was a contributing factor to an underwhelming performance by the Vols’ defense overall as a unit.
Josh Heupel is working quickly to fix that with the early signing period beginning on Wednesday for the 2026 recruiting class. Per Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett, three-star defensive lineman Nic’Quayvion Simmons committed to Tennessee on Tuesday.
Tennessee picks up big defensive line commitment one day before national early signing period starts
I said big, because, well, Simmons, who hails from Columbus, GA (Carver High School) is definitely that. At 6’3″, 310 pounds, he’s earned the nickname “Big Nuk”.
Simmons is ranked at the No. 1771 ranked overall player by Rivals, the No. 161 defensive lineman, and the No. 177 player in the state of Georgia. He holds offers from Mississippi State, Colorado, Troy, and Georgia State.
The Vols’ depth issues came to light early in the season, with Jaxson Moi and Daevin Hobbs both missing time with injuries. Tennessee was gashed on the ground (198 rushing yards allowed) in a 44-41 loss to Georgia and a 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State (203). They finished with a major whimper last Saturday, allowing 312 rushing yards and 582 total yards to Vanderbilt in a 45-24 loss.
Simmons will join a 2026 recruiting class that will hope to offer a solution to that includes fellow defensive linemen commits Dereon Albert (Jackson, MS) and Darryl Rivers (Powder Springs, GA).
The early signing period begins on Wednesday, December 3.
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