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Writer's pictureBrenden Duffy

IT Recruiting Profile: 2026 Safety Simeon Caldwell

Simeon Caldwell is your prototypical modern-day NFL safety. Standing at 6’3 and 190 pounds, the agile high school junior is a natural athletic freak who currently attends The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he's a two-sport varsity athlete in both football and basketball.

Photo via Simeon Caldwell (X @Sim_C24)


As a sophomore hooper on his varsity team last season, Simeon Caldwell averaged 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 19 appearances. His best scoring performance came in Bolles’ first round playoff game, when he dropped 18 in a 66-62 victory.


However, Caldwell is bound to make his money on the gridiron. The player that kept coming to mind when watching his tape is current New York Giant and former Clemson Tiger, Isaiah Simmons, as both share the ability to line up anywhere on the defense and make plays which require elite athleticism and intelligence. 


At The Bolles School, the agile gridiron star's primary position is linebacker; however, he is being widely recruited as a safety. 


As a freshman, Caldwell saw limited playing time on the varsity level. While appearing in 13 games, he recorded 28 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and a pass deflection. Additionally, he registered at least one tackle in every appearance as a freshman.


Caldwell truly broke out this past season as a sophomore. In 14 games, Caldwell totaled 137 tackles (11 for loss), two interceptions, one sack, and a forced fumble. He also made a significant impact on special teams, recording two blocked extra point attempts. He finished the season with eight games of 10 or more tackles. 


His best performance came against Trinity Christian when he recorded 11 tackles (three for loss), an interception, and one sack in a 26-21 win. 


It will be surely interesting to see how Bolles’ coaching staff continues to utilize Caldwell as he prepares for another monster season on the high school level. It will also be worth tracking to see how he could perform at receiver. The skillset is definitely there but the staff may just want to protect Caldwell for defensive purposes.


As a recruit, Caldwell is a consensus four-star safety. On3, ESPN, and 247 all have Caldwell ranked as a top-100 player in the country and top-5 safety in the 2026 class. The elite talent currently holds 23 offers, with six teams making a strong push: Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan, and Texas. 


Caldwell has visited South Bend twice, most recently on July 25. This should bode well as the Irish were one of the latter schools to offer Caldwell. 


Florida State and Miami are the most local schools to Caldwell, and Caldwell’s uncle, Tim Walton, served as the Miami defensive coordinator in 2007. This ties into Ohio State because their current defensive backs coach is his uncle, Tim Walton. Caldwell has taken a visit to all three aforementioned schools. He also took visits to Michigan and Texas.


Still, Notre Dame seems to be in good standing with Caldwell. A commitment from a top-100 defensive recruit would be great momentum for coach Freeman to build a top 2026 class. To this point, however, Caldwell has yet to release a list of his top schools.



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