This off-season, Tennessee defensive lineman Elijah Simmons made a change that took some by surprise.

The 6-foot-2, 340-pound defender made the switch from wearing No. 51 to No. 10 on his jersey.

While a number on your chest can only effect your play so much, Simmons has been tasked with changing his mentality on the field, as well. This has started with defensive line coach Rodney Garner.

“If you’re a D-lineman wearing No. 10, then you need to be elite,” said Garner. “My challenge to him – sometimes 10 shows up to practice, sometimes 51 shows up, so we have to figure out who you are and what you want to be.”

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For Simmons, there is a clear difference between his past self wearing No. 51 and his current No. 10 wearing self heading into the upcoming season.

“I would say 51, he’s a guy that, he strains sometimes, he took off some plays,” Simmons said. “But he always wanted to finish.

“No. 10, he’s going continuously fight, strain and compete every day. Come out every day ready to play, ready to fight the next opponent each and every day get better. So that's the main difference.”

The way Simmons has approached keeping this new mentality is relying on his coaching staff.

Now, he is open to being coached and pushed. Garner said some players are able to push themselves while others need assistance. For Simmons, he is now willing to let the staff lead him in the right direction.

“Always strive to do what I need to do,” Simmons said. “Every play, try to do exactly what coach asks us to do, but it is not even a pride thing. It's just being dedicated to one play at a time. Just being ready to reset every play. Go as hard as you can each and every time.”

Possibly the biggest barrier in front of Simmons' ultimate goal of taking a big step and playing at the next level is his conditioning.

Due to his size that allows him to wreck the line of scrimmage and throw opponents around, he can get quickly fatigued. This showed up when adversity would appear and his body was exhausted.

Despite this, it's clear he's made strides in the area ahead of the 2023 season.

"He would start out always with a bang, then somewhere along the line hit adversity and fade away,” Garner said. “He had a really good spring, and like I told him in the evaluation after spring ball, the challenge was going to be, was he going to pick up where he left off in spring or were we going to start all the way back over again. Thus far through camp, he’s having a really good start, and I think he sees that so hopefully he’s gaining some more confidence.”

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This new focus on elevating his level of conditioning has already paid off. Simmons says he can see a clear difference but he isn't satisfied.

Instead, he knows he must continue to work on this area of his game.

"I'd say 100%," said Simmons on if he's gained more stamina. "But I'm still just trying to condition every day to make my endurance better and better each day. So it's just a process throughout the whole camp."

Now, Simmons is in the midst of competition for one of the starting roles on the defensive line. Omari Thomas has one spot locked up but Simmons and Omarr Norman-Lott seem to be neck-and-neck for the other starting position.

Even if Simmons isn't named a starter, he will certainly be called upon, though. The team's depth that allows starters to catch their breath is a key principle of the defense.

Whichever role Simmons ultimately fits into, it will be one that was reached through hard work and attention to detail that unlocked the player that was inside him all along.

"We always knew that Elijah has it in him, but it was all on what he decided to do with it," Vols' LEO Roman Harrison said. "This fall, he's grown leaps and bounds."

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