The scholarship offer Elijah Simmons received from Tennessee last month immediately made the Vols one of his favorites, but he initially still wanted to visit a couple of other schools before deciding on a college.

He ultimately decided that wouldn’t be necessary.

The three-star rising senior defensive tackle from Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School in Nashville, Tenn., announced Monday that he has committed to Tennessee, choosing the Vols over Memphis and Missouri after earning a scholarship offer from Tennessee last month at one of its camps.

The 6-foot-1, 344-pound Simmons gave the Vols their 14th known commitment for the 2019 class and their third from a projected defensive lineman, joining three-star defensive tackle LeDarrius Cox and three-star, junior-college lineman Darel Middleton.

“I made sure I talked with my family and a few friends, and I thought about it and prayed about it. I just felt like that was the school for me,” said Simmons, who’s ranked the No. 715 overall prospect and No. 47 defensive tackle in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite for the 2019 class.

Simmons said he was sold on Tennessee for multiple reasons, starting with the way first-year Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt’s staff has recruited him since extending an offer to him last month.

Tennessee cornerbacks coach Terry Fair, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker and Pruitt recently have stayed in touch with him.

“I just like how they stayed in contact with me, made sure everything was all right, just making sure they have a relationship and they aren’t worried about rankings and all that other stuff,” he said. “They’re worried about how the actual player is and how they play. That’s what I like about them.

“They just see how I’m doing almost every day and make sure I’m all right every day. … I just wanted to go somewhere that I knew that I’ll have a connection with all the coaches and players and stuff — the whole staff.”

Simmons said he informed Pruitt of his decision over the weekend.

“He seemed pretty excited about it,” Simmons said, referring to Pruitt. “He was like, ‘I want you to become a Vol, too.’”

A Memphis, Tenn., native who moved to Nashville when he was younger, Simmons recently had hoped to visit Memphis and Missouri — the other teams he included in the top three he announced Saturday — before announcing his choice.

But with his senior season approaching and with Tennessee making him a priority, he decided he didn’t need to wait to take more trips.

“I wanted that behind me so I wouldn’t have anything on my back, on my shoulders or anything like that,” Simmons said. “I wanted to go on and make my decision.”

The Vols worked Simmons on both the offensive and defensive lines when he attended one of their camps last month, but he said Tennessee has expressed more interest in playing him at nose tackle in its 3-4 defense.

“They feel like I can fit that nose-guard position and I’ll be beneficial to their line,” he said.

Simmons said Pruitt's staff hasn’t made any promises to him about having a chance to earn early playing time, and that’s fine with him.

“They haven’t said anything about that,” Simmons said. “And, really, I’m not actually worried about it because I know that, when I’m there, I’ll be able to show them how I really play. And, hopefully, I’ll be able to start early or so.”

He said his father was excited to find out about his decision, and he’s now eager to show his father what Tennessee has to offer when he returns to Knoxville on July 28 for the Vols’ cookout.

“My dad, he’s pretty psyched about it,” Simmons said. “I think he likes them. A few of the coaches talked to him before, and I guess he liked what he heard.”

While Simmons doesn’t expect to change his mind about playing at Tennessee, he said he doesn’t plan to completely shut down his recruitment right away. He said he’s still hoping to visit Memphis and Missouri in the coming months.

“I’m going to leave it open,” he said. "I’m still going to take my visits. I haven’t taken any at all. I’m going to still have my recruitment open. I will be going to Memphis. I still want to take an official visit to UT, and Missouri.”