Vols Elijah Simmons Hopes New Number Leads to New Man on the Field

Big Tennessee defensive lineman Elijah Simmons has switched jersey numbers for this season.
He changed from 51 to 10. Simmons says the move is symbolic, while his defensive line coach would like to see the jersey switch, flip a switch for Simmons on the field.

Said Simmons:”Feel like it’s a new season. A new opportunity to change how I play. I’ve done better this spring, so I felt like a new number. A new me.”
Said defensive line coach Rodney Gardner:”I mean everybody knows he switched his number to ten. Like I said, we have D-linemen wearing ten, you need to be elite. So my challenge to him. Sometimes ten shows up to practice, and sometimes 51 shows up. So we just got to figure out who you are, and what you’re going to be. Ten and 51 are different guys, so if he’s going to be ten, then he needs to get himself in really, really good shape, and be able to play out the whole game like ten.”