Ole Miss Football Battling Florida Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide for Prized Prospect

Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) four-star safety Kenneth Simon II is fresh off of a strong junior campaign with a myriad of programs firmly in the race for his services.

Simon, a Top-10 prospect in Tennessee, has reeled in scholarships from the likes of the Florida Gators, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Alabama Crimson Tide, among others, as his process explodes.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has evaluators salivating at his potential with his ranking skyrocketing across the last handful of months as Ole Miss puts a foot on the gas.

"Modern 3-4 linebacker projection with the athleticism, physicality and awareness to play all three downs. Began prep career as a safety, but got more and more snaps in the box as a junior for a Brentwood Academy squad that captured a Tennessee Division II-AA championship.

"Displays impressive downhill thrust as he shoots forward and closes gaps.-Swiftly changes directions from a second-level perch and takes sharp angles to the football.-Tends to come to balance as a tackler and will try to explode through contact.

Ole Miss Rebels Football. — Brentwood Academy's Kenneth Simon (10) works with his team during the fourth quarter against Ensworth at Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tenn., Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Can be dangerous on the blitz with his get-off and will dip around tackles.-Might not be the biggest, but is the son of a former NFL defender, which suggests that he’s likely only going to get bigger.-Projects at this stage as a versatile piece for a Power Four defense that can help limit the run and pass."

Now, with a myriad of schools in the race for his services, Simon has trimmed his list to eight schools this month: Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt.

Simon will prepare for a critical offseason in his recruitment with a flurry of programs looking to get him in town for multi-day stays - including the Ole Miss Rebels and Pete Golding.

Golding and Co. continue working through the next phase of Ole Miss Football after taking over as the shot-caller of the program, but remains in the play-caller slot on defense.

WHERE IS HOME??🏡@ChadSimmons_ @TomLoy247 @SWiltfong_ @GregBiggins @BuckFitz @247recruiting @On3sports @RivalsHS @ESBN_BA pic.twitter.com/WAfSSwqFsz
— Kenneth Simon ll (@K2simon2) December 13, 2025

“I love calling defense,” Golding said. “Feel like I do a decent job at it. That’s not going to change. [Brown’s] going to take on a lot of responsibility of managing that room from a practice-scripting standpoint.

"But as far as actually calling the defense, the system, the terminology, we’ve recruited to that system for three years. I’ve looked every kid in the face and every parent in the eye and said, ‘I can assure you that system won’t change and it’s not going to.’

“We have a lot of really good people in this room to be able to allow me to still do that on game day, and that’ll be at this point and moving forward.”

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