Practice Insider: Kiffin’s next Ole Miss QB project; Week 2 highlights and photos
Austin Simmons is the third quarterback for Lane Kiffin in six seasons as Ole Miss head coach.
Kiffin had strong relationships with Matt Corral and Jaxson Dart, each of whom set records while under center as Rebels. Simmons and Kiffin aren’t there yet.
But progress is being made this spring. Ole Miss held its first practice of the second week of spring football on Tuesday.
“Those relationships, like any relationships, grow with time, and especially as they become the quarterback,” Kiffin said. “You spend much more one-on-one time with them because of things that happened through the course of the season, through the course of training camp. Need to spend more time with them at that point because they have a lot of impact on the team.
“That always takes a little bit of time. It’s not just how many years they’ve been (in the program). It’s more when they become the guy running the first team, I think that relationship grows more.”
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Ole Miss last season won 10 games for the third time in four years.
Corral was responsible for one, while Dart led the Rebels to the other two.
The 6-foot-4, lefty-throwing Simmons certainly seems to have all the tools to keep the next-level production rolling. Dart was All-SEC last season and threw for 4,729 yards, 29 touchdowns and an SEC-leading 329.2 yards per game.
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He became one of just four players in SEC history with 12,000 total career yards. Dart broke the single-season Ole Miss passing and total offense records, as well as his own school records for single-bowl passing yards and total offense.
Simmons received playing time for the first time in his career. He completed 19 of 32 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in nine games. He also rushed five times for 14 yards.
“I love everything about this team,” Simmons said of the new-look Rebels, who are replacing over 72 percent of their starting lineup. “We’re still getting to learn each other. Still building chemistry around each other. Right now we’re just in that building phase, but really be that great team while we’re preparing for fall.”
The included practice highlights were compiled by the Ole Miss Spirit, while the pictures are from Ole Miss Athletics Communications.
DeeJay Holmes
Izaiah Hartrup
Raymond Collins
Jam Brown
Kam Franklin
Percy Lewis
Andrew Jones
Anthony Robinson
Jordan Smart
Delando Townsend
