Lane Kiffin unpacks how Austin Simmons will factor into Ole Miss run game

Ole Miss will have its work cut out for it trying to replace starting quarterback Jaxson Dart. Enter Austin Simmons, a former top-300 recruit who has patiently waited for his turn.

Simmons is already projected to be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. But how much can he really replicate what Dart did?

That remains to be seen. And there’s at least one element coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t see Austin Simmons bringing to the table. He was recently asked about Simmons as a runner.

“I mean that’s a pretty schematical question, but I don’t know,” Kiffin said. “I’m OK saying this: I wouldn’t picture him being really involved in a lot of quarterback runs.”

That’ll be a stark shift for the Ole Miss offense. Dart was very much a runner and made defenses respect that element of his game.

Dart ran for 495 yards and three touchdowns last season, doing enough to force opposing defensive coordinators to account for him. Austin Simmons likely will not. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be effective.

Simmons doesn’t have a ton of experience in the SEC, but he has already shown some flashes. One such flash? An appearance in a game against No. 3 Georgia in which he led the team right down the field for a touchdown after taking over for a hobbled Dart.

But Simmons is well-known in recruiting circles. He was a top-300 recruit in the 2023 class, checking in as the No. 266 overall player in the country in that cycle, ranking as a high four-star prospect. Now he’ll get to show it.

And at least one ESPN insider believes Austin Simmons has as compelling a story as anyone. Pete Thamel broke down why:

“He’s a really compelling character. His backstory and upbringing is actually much more interesting than Arch Manning’s, in a sense of his path is completely unique to anyone that we’ve seen,” Thamel said. “He graduated from high school two years early and before even starting a game for Ole Miss in his third season, he’s already a college graduate.”

Throw in what Austin Simmons can do on the football field and you start to become even more impressed. The Rebels are counting on big things this fall.

“There’s some really interesting makeup and really interesting composure with Austin Simmons,” Thamel said at SEC Media Days. “The ball comes off his hand special and Lane was like, ‘Yeah, there’s probably a lot of big words for it. I don’t know it, but the first time I saw him throw, he said, that’s Tua [Tagovailoa].

“Austin Simmons was not shying away, not cliché. He was a really impressive young man. He was really fun to talk to. And he basically was just like, ‘There’s a lot more coming.’ There was a quiet confidence to him, where he was not ducking what was coming for him. He thinks he’s built for it. He thinks he’s ready for it.”