Elite Offensive Tackle Lucas Simmons Sets Official Visit To Tennessee

Tennessee's pursuit of elite prospects on the recruiting trail has only amplified over the past few months. Now, another elite prospect has set an official visit to Tennessee.

Clearwater International Academy (Fla.) offensive tackle Lucas Simmons, who has a case to be the top offensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class, has set an official visit with the Vols for the weekend of May 27-29th.

Simmons was in Knoxville in April for an unofficial visit with Tennessee, which opened the door for them to become a major player in his recruitment.

"The thing that stood out to me is probably the relationships I was able to build," Simmons said in April. "In other schools, I liked the coaches really well, but with Tennessee, I don't think I had a conversation with anyone where I felt bad about a person or had negative emotion towards anybody, and I talked to a lot of recruits, players, and coaches as well. So just seeing how everybody interacts with everybody, meant a lot to me, because I haven't really seen that before. I talked to coaches, of course, but talking to recruits and other players was really special."

Being from Sweden, the nasty weather on Rocky Top at the time was not anything unusual for Simmons. He came away impressed with his first look at Tennessee's campus.

"I liked the campus. It's big, but everything's close," Simmons said at the time. "The facility is right by the football player dorms; it's kind of built around that and makes it easy as possible for the athletes. We were able to see the academic centers, dorms, and facilities. The things I saw were really good, but I'll be back in May, so the things I saw were really good."

Coming into the April visit, Simmons was familiar with Glen Elarbeee through their conversations on the phone, but the trip offered the first opportunity to meet him in person and see him coach.

"We have had great conversations on the phone, but being able to see him in person while he's coaching, having meetings, on the field, and running practice," Simmons said at the time. "He's one of those coaches that cares about you so much more like we didn't just talk about football, we talked about life, and that's what I really appreciated."

"I really liked how he coached," Simmons added of what he saw from Elarbee on the practice field. "He was able to give criticism without being one of those coaches that just yells in your ear. The way he coaches, I think, will really fit me because I know he will care and love me but still give criticism and won't just yell for no reason; he really has a feel for that. The players really feel for him. I think he's a really good guy and really good coach.

Admittedly, the Vols made a move for Simmons during the April weekend visit, and they will look to build on it during his official visit.

"I expected a lot from them, but I didn't expect anywhere close to what they did this weekend and what impact it had," Simmons said at the time. "They really did a good job showing that they're a good potential fit for me."

Simmons is still considering several schools, including Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma State, and USC, among others.