‘He has some Tua to him’: What Austin Simmons addition means for Ole Miss QB room

Seven years after helping Alabama sign Tua Tagovailoa, Lane Kiffin has now landed another intriguing left-handed No. 13 at QB.

While much of the national reaction to Kiffin and Ole Miss stealing Austin Simmons from Florida has been focused on Simmons’ uncommon two-year jump to the 2023 recruiting class, the more important aspect of it for Kiffin is the addition of yet another talented young player to a Rebels QB room that’s now set up well for both the present and future.

Before reclassifying, Simmons ranked as the fourth-best QB in the 2025 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Now? One opposing SEC personnel director told On3 that his team probably would have ranked the Florida product as one of the top 15 or so QB prospects in the 2023 class.

“He has some Tua to him,” a Power Five offensive staffer said. “Really compact release. Spins the hell out of the football. Can throw the s—- out of the football. Not a freakshow athlete, but a good athlete. Super smart. Great physical ability and great intangibles. He’s really talented.”

Thanks to “accelerated learning,” Simmons was not only able to jump two recruiting classes but is also in position to be a junior academically upon arriving at Ole Miss this summer.

Simmons told the Coach Me Coach podcast that he finished with his high school credits as a freshman, started taking college courses and is now set to get his associate’s degree in the near future.

One important note, though, is that Ole Miss isn’t adding a 15- or 16-year old quarterback.

Despite only playing two high school football seasons, Simmons is already 17, which isn’t outrageously young for an incoming freshman.

In comparison, a former Kiffin QB, Jalen Hurts, was 17 when he enrolled at Alabama as part of the Tide’s 2016 recruiting class.

As a sophomore at Pahokee (Fla.) High School last season, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Simmons led his team to a 9-3 record and broke former NFL star Anquan Boldin’s school record for passing yards in a single season with 3,242. 

In addition to football, Simmons will be part of Ole Miss’ baseball team and has a mid-90s fastball as a pitcher. 

“Obviously a young dude, but he’s got a lot of upside,” the aforementioned SEC personnel director said. “Good pocket passer. The ball comes off his hand naturally. Got really good accuracy. Good ball placement. You can tell the kid knows where to go with the ball at the right time. It’s just very natural for him.

“There’s still a couple things where I wonder if he can change like trajectory, the speed on the ball and stuff, but he was definitely one who was on our list for top five quarterbacks for the ’25 class.”

Adding Simmons gives Ole Miss a fourth scholarship quarterback to go along with returning starter Jaxson Dart, Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and LSU transfer and former Class of 2022 top-50 recruit Walker Howard.

Dart impressed people around the program with his progression this spring and could be in position to leave for the NFL with a strong 2023 season. The plan for Simmons is for him to develop and then eventually compete with others such as Howard whenever Dart does depart for the NFL.

“It’s kind of like the Tiger Woods deal like with Tiger Woods’ dad and all,” a Power Five staffer said of Simmons. “That’s kind of the vibe that you get. The kid’s super mature, laser focused and tunnel vision with everything going on and the dad helps to keep him on track. But the kid does have some s—- to him, too, and he’s a good kid.”

The opposing SEC personnel director labeled it as a “good get” for Ole Miss.

“From a talent standpoint, I would not be surprised if he comes in and makes some noise behind the scenes there,” he said.

After all, Kiffin does have a good track record so far with left-handed QB recruits who wore that No. 13.