Lane Kiffin details level of confidence Ole Miss has in Austin Simmons when needed

Ole Miss starting quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered an ankle injury on the Rebels’ opening drive against Georgia and the team was forced to sub in redshirt freshman QB Austin Simmons. Simmons didn’t shy away from the massive opportunity.

Instead, Simmons led the Rebels on a 10-play, 75-yard drive to even the game at 7-7. He was nearly flawless on the drive, completing 5-of-6 passes for 64 yards before Ulysses Bentley punched in a nine-yard touchdown run.

Dart was ultimately able to return on the next drive and led Ole Miss to a convincing 28-10 win over Georgia. However, it all started with Simmons’ offensive spark. After the game, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin pulled back the curtain on his thought process when Dart went down with an injury.

“It didn’t look good to me. The way he limped off, the way he — you know we have the iPads now so I can see him on the last throw, try to throw, try to move — So I kind of thought he was done,” Kiffin said. “I talked to Austin right away before we even went on defense, because what I saw, it looked really bad. He could barely get to the sideline.

“I said to Austin, ‘Get ready, go warm up. We’re going to run the same calls with you.’ Kind of shows our confidence in the first play to run a naked bootleg and let him throw on the first play against Georgia. That guy’s done a great job in practice and it showed up today.”

While Simmons’ time has been limited this season, he’s shown promising flashes when given the chance. In the 2024 campaign, Simmons has completed 18-of-his-30 pass attempts for 248 yards and two touchdowns in five appearances.

Austin Simmons’ best is still ahead of him. He initially was a member of the 2025 class before joining the 2023 recruiting cycle. Simmons was a four-star prospect and the No. 18 quarterback in the 2023 Class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Kiffin can’t wait to see what lies ahead for the talented QB.

“I’m just so proud of him, he’s a hell of a player,” Kiffin said after the win. “Him just being able to come in and manufacture a drive like that, which resulted in a touchdown, was huge and really provided a spark for our team.”