Washington commitment Jack Sirmon of Brentwood Academy is No. 7 on 2017 Dandy Dozen

Michael Murphy
The Tennessean

Brentwood Academy linebacker Jack Sirmon had a lot on his plate at this time last year.

Brentwood Academy's Jack Sirmon (44) is No. 7 on this year's Tennessean Dandy Dozen.

As if adjusting to a new city and school weren’t a big enough challenge for the budding college football prospect, Sirmon was also nursing the ACL he’d torn in 2015 while playing at Los Angeles’ Loyola High School.

Throw in the fact that he was still getting accustomed to a long-distance relationship with his father, former Tennessee Titans linebacker and then-Mississippi State defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon — now at Louisville — and it’s easy to understand why the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder didn't hit the turf running.

► MORE:2017 Tennessean Dandy Dozen

“He didn’t play in the first three games because of the ACL,” Brentwood Academy coach Cody White said.

However, it didn't take long before Sirmon began to feel at home, and by season’s end, the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder had emerged as the backbone of Brentwood Academy’s defense.

“I think I came in and adjusted well and everybody was really welcoming,” said Sirmon, who is No. 7 on this year’s Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top 12 Nashville-area senior college football prospects as named by The Tennessean. “But just given the time to really mesh with my teammates and the community I feel was really helpful.”

In fact, Sirmon, a three-star prospect and the country’s 30th-ranked inside linebacker according to 247Sports, delivered the stop of the season for Brentwood Academy, picking off Montgomery Bell Academy’s Ty Allen with just 25 seconds left to secure the school’s second straight Division II-AA title.

Sirmon

“I think he made his presence felt last year,” fellow Brentwood Academy Dandy Dozen selection Gavin Schoenwald said. “It’s definitely encouraging knowing that if I throw a pick this season I’ll have him in the middle of the defense to bail me out.”

Sirmon, a 2016 Tennessean All-Midstate first-teamer who had 61 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions last season, is not only the heart and soul of the Eagles’ defense. He’s also the brain.

“Our defensive coordinator (David Norris) will get frustrated when I say this, but we’re really, really complicated,” White said. “Our checks and things, we don’t call them. So between (Sirmon) and Cam (Johnson) in the secondary, they make the adjustments for us, and so they’ve got to understand inside and out what we’re doing defensively.

“He’s a coach’s kid and it shows.”

Sirmon, a Washington commitment, won’t be studying under his father in the future, though — at least not in a formal sense.

“I’d love to play for my dad and I think that would be an awesome experience, but we talked about it and he said that I need to pick a place that I want to go,” said Sirmon, a native of Washington. “If he was at the place I wanted to go then that would be amazing, but I feel like Washington is the place I fit in best.

"I'm good with Washington."

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8026 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.

Jack Sirmon

Brentwood Academy, Linebacker

Height: 6-2 Weight: 225
247Sports composite: 3 stars
College: Committed to Washington (12/29/2016)
Key stat: Loyola (Calif.) transfer posted 61 tackles, a pair of sacks and three interceptions in nine games last season. He also played sparingly at tight end, hauling in two catches for 28 yards.