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The high school chapter of Simeon Alphonse’s football career may have closed, but the Coffee County senior’s time on the field is far from over. As of Wednesday afternoon, it will now be continuing at the NCAA Division I level.

The 2-time all-region offensive lineman signed his national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, making it official on National Signing Day. Alphonse held his ceremony in the Coffee County weight room surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches.

“It’s amazing to know that my college is paid for. I’m just excited for the opportunity that football has opened for me,” Alphonse said. “I still get the next four or five years to show that I can still improve and I have a chance at the next level.”

Alphonse’s offer from Chattanooga came through a little bit later in the recruitment process. Once it did, Alphonse said the opportunity to play relatively close to his family and friends was a major factor in his decision to commit to the Mocs.

“Just being able to be close to home so I can still see my guys and my parents and just to come back,” Alphonse explained.

Alphonse will be joining a Chattanooga program that went 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play in 2025. The Mocs most recently made the FCS playoffs in 2023, falling to Furman in the second round.

Off the field, Alphonse plans to pursue a degree in education. After college, he said that his goal was to return to Coffee County to begin a coaching career of his own and give back to the community that helped shape him.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my time anywhere else. I met amazing people every year, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year, people to lead me,” Alphonse said of what the Coffee County program has meant to him. “I was given the opportunity to lead others and I’m just so glad that I was given that opportunity.”

Alphonse added that he was thankful for his faith, his family, his coaches and his teammates for helping him reach this milestone.

“I want to thank God. I want to thank my parents. I want to thank Coach (Brandon) Harmon, any coach that has put time and effort into building me up as a player,” Alphonse said. “I want to thank anybody I played with.”