Elijah Simmons will miss Virginia game, per Josh Heupel

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel delivered some bad news at his Thursday press conference when he revealed that defensive lineman Elijah Simmons will not be available for the Vols’ Week 1 contest against Virginia.

During Heupel’s time at the podium, one reporter asked about Simmons’ status, which elicited this response (which you can hear at the 30-second mark of the video above):

“Yeah we’ll know more, but a guy that has been great all training camp and really all offseason. He’ll be out for this one. But we’ll see where that goes moving forward.”

Earlier in the month, Heupel noted that the Elijah Simmons injury was a “freak deal” and something he didn’t anticipate to be long-term. So he should be back, but how soon remains the question.

According to On3’s Volquest, the defensive lineman will likely miss more than the Virginia game, at the very least. They wrote on Thursday that “sources have indicated to Volquest that Simmons is expected to miss several weeks with the injury.”

Simmons started the first four games of the season for Tennessee this past season, but ended up playing only seven total as he dealt with injuries. He finished the year with 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Simmons figures to once again feature this season as a starter at defensive tackle, and Heupel is hopeful the injury concerns won’t linger throughout this year.

“We’ll see when he gets back,” Coach Heupel had said right after the injury occurred a couple weeks ago. “He’s been in great spirits. He said he’s feeling really good.”

Tennessee lost some big names on the defensive front, making the return of Elijah Simmons from injury all the more important. Most importantly, Byron Young departs after he was the leader in sacks last season with seven. Now, the 25-year-old is a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

Thankfully, Simmons won’t be alone as the Volunteers also return key contributors Tyler Baron and Omari Thomas on the defensive line. Plus, do-it-all middle linebacker Aaron Beasley is back to lead the defense after he posted a team-high 76 tackles last season, along with 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and three pass breakups.

The No. 12 ranked Tennessee Volunteers will open the new season against Virginia on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The neutral-site game is scheduled to start at Noon Eastern Time and will be televised by ABC.