Damari Simeon

Physical Profile

Listed between 6-2 and 6-3 and 275-288 pounds, Simeon has a compact, dense build rather than the long-levered frame of a true 5-technique. His calling card is movement skill uncommon at his mass — burst off the snap, lateral quickness, and the flexibility to lower his pad level and dip while sliding down the line. The frame still needs another 10-15 pounds of functional weight to anchor as a full-time interior player at the Big Ten level, but the athletic base profiles cleanly as a one-gap penetrating 3-tech with situational kick-out to 5-tech in three-man fronts.

Play Style

An upfield, penetration-first defensive tackle who plays with high energy and disrupts in the backfield rather than holding the point. On film he beats blockers with get-off and lateral quickness, uses active hands to shed, and dips his pad level to slither through gaps. Against lesser competition he flashes the power to bull-rush, but his bread-and-butter is quickness-to-leverage. The forced fumble and interception underline a knack for impact splash plays beyond simple gap control.

Strengths

• First-step explosiveness and get-off — 247Sports' Andrew Ivins cites 'favorable movement skills' and 'burst off the line,' and the 9 TFL/2.5 sacks junior film backs up an ability to win the rep before the blocker is set
• Active, refined hands to shed and disengage — quick hand usage lets him stack-and-shed and convert penetration into backfield production rather than just two-gap occupying
• Rare bend and pad level for an interior body — the ability to lower his hips and dip while sliding makes him genuinely difficult to wash out of the gap, and he flashes enough overall athleticism (INT, forced fumble) to make plays in space

Areas to Improve

• Play strength and mass at the point of attack — he can overpower smaller HS linemen but leans on quickness against bigger bodies; he must add weight and anchor strength to avoid getting moved on down blocks and double teams in the Big Ten
• Technical refinement — pad-level consistency, hand placement, and block/run-key recognition all need polish; right now he wins on traits more than technique, which is the standard developmental gap for a quick interior prospect

College Projection

Classic redshirt-then-develop interior projection. Realistically the sixth DT on a loaded Ohio State depth chart as a true freshman, with his first meaningful snaps coming as a sophomore in a rotation and a path to a starting 3-technique role as an upperclassman once the weight and technique catch up. The Haskell Garrett comparison — limited early, productive starter later — is an apt timeline. Floor is a quality rotational interior rusher; ceiling is a multi-year starting penetrator.

NFL Outlook

Legitimate Day 2-3 developmental upside if the projection hits. The athletic traits — first step, bend, hand quickness — are the exact movement markers NFL teams covet in undersized-but-explosive 3-techniques, and pass-rush juice from the interior carries draft value. The variable is whether he can add anchor strength without losing the quickness that makes him special. A multi-year Ohio State starter at 3-tech would put him squarely on draft boards; a rotational career still keeps him in the priority-free-agent/late-round conversation.

Best Fit

A one-gap, attacking defensive front that lets him fire upfield rather than read-and-react two-gap scheme — exactly the penetrating 3-technique role Ohio State recruited him for. A program with elite strength-and-conditioning and DL development infrastructure (to manage the weight gain without sacrificing burst) and a rotation-heavy interior that can bring him along slowly maximizes the upside. Aggressive, gap-shooting defenses that prioritize disruption over sheer size are his ideal home.