Four-star LB Kenneth Simon II commits to Alabama football, Kalen DeBoer

Four-star LB Kenneth Simon II commits to Alabama football, Kalen DeBoer

Brentwood Academy four-star junior linebacker Kenneth Simon II committed to Kalen DeBoer and Alabama on May 11 over Tennessee and others, according on a post from On3 on its X account.

Tennessee was a close second, Simon said.

The Volunteers had an in with Simon, whose dad, Kevin, was a two-time All-SEC linebacker selection at Tennessee and seventh-round NFL draft pick by Washington; he was once the director of player development at Tennessee, working as a liaison with NFL scout.

"My dad just wants to see me go do what's the best for me (no matter the school)," Simon told The Tennessean prior to his announcement. "That talk (about the connection) wasn't too crazy. Not one time during the recruiting process did I feel like, 'All right, he wants me to go to Tennessee.' So, it wasn't too big a deal for him."

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Simon's top four schools were Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. His other offers included Georgia, Michigan, Florida and Vanderbilt.

Simon is a four-star prospect ranked No. 6 in Tennessee for the 2027 class and is the No. 10 linebacker nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite.

He finished with eight TFLs, 4.5 sacks, one interception, one blocked kick and one pass breakup in 2025 during Brentwood Academy’s TSSAA football runner-up finish in Division II-AAA. He also had 129 yards in kick returns and rushed for 64 yards and a TD.