Austin Simmons already has an Ole Miss degree in hand before he takes the first snap of the season this year. Lane Kiffin not only has a football prodigy in the young QB, but he’s also got an academic whiz under his wing. Academic excellence aside, Simmons will take the baton from first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart. It’s a huge change since Dart is the guy who was the face of the program for three years. Can Austin Simmons replicate what the former QB did for the Rebels? Or is the newbie going to falter in his biggest playing year out of high school?
Simmons has a total of 5616 receiving yards and 42 total TDs from his 3 years at high school. He graduated at 16 and also enrolled at Mississippi 2 years before expected. “He’s got a hard act to follow,” Kiffin said about Simmons. He spent 2 years behind Dart, soaking up as much as he could from the impressive QB. Last year, Simmons finished with 282 passing yards, 2 TDs, and a completion percentage of 59.4%. It’s always difficult for a young QB to take over from a veteran, and that too without causing a wrinkle. But will his inexperience prove to be a bit much for Ole Miss?
The hosts of the Crain and Company podcast were not very confident about the QB situation. “They [Ole Miss] went from [being] in the suburbs to an estate with a pool and a gate and almost made the College Football Playoff. [They] should have if they beat Kentucky because of what they did on the line of scrimmage. Can they recreate that around a brand new quarterback, who’s still going to take some lumps?” Jake Crain asked. The Wildcats dominated the line of scrimmage, despite averaging just 2 yards per carry.
David Cone explored another angle with Lane Kiffin in perspective. The hype around 2024 being the HC’s next big thing was just as loud as it is this year. “[He] finally gets over the hump (8:14) in some of the biggest games, you’re losing to Kentucky at home. And then you’re right back where you started.” All of this was with a “favorable schedule,” and the returning leading all-time passer in the Rebels’ history. With Jaxson Dart in the mix, there was potential to do better than what the team could put forward.
People would remember that one drive Simmons made in the Georgia game, which led to a touchdown. There’s potential in the guy. But given his multifaceted talents and the responsibility of filling in for Dart, it puts some unrealistic expectations on the young guy’s shoulders. “He doesn’t need to be Jaxson,” Kiffin had said earlier. In fact, Simmons is at the cusp of pulling off something great for Ole Miss. However, his skills in baseball, too, are also seeing a new supporter.
Austin Simmons’ dad brings Shohei Ohtani back into football comparisons
Austin Simmons’ father, Jake Simmons, said coolly, “He’s a better baseball player than a football player. A lot of people have no idea. He could be (Shohei) Ohtani. If he didn’t play football, he would be Ohtani.” 2025 was a year of big decisions. And had Jaxson Dart not declared for the draft, Simmons would’ve wanted to be playing in both sports. But he had to focus on where the stakes were higher.
“I felt as though I had a better opportunity in football,” he told On3. That will be a dampener for his father, who is a baseball coach. What Ohtani does, no one can do. Simmons was going to carry so much pressure in 2025 that he decided to focus on where his odds seemed the best. Being compared to Ohtani alone seems like a commendable yet tiresome feat. And he shouldn’t have to do that at 19. “Last year, he had 13 relief appearances for Ole Miss’s baseball team in the SEC, when he should have been a junior in high school, and he was already pitching in,” The Next Round’s Jim Dunaway and Lance Taylor noted.
Austin Simmons is bigger than a southpaw—he’s a jack of all trades. But personal achievements aside, he still has some big shoes to fill in 2025. Does Lane Kiffin have his next superstar in Simmons? Or will the young QB crumble with the weight of carrying so many expectations?
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