OXFORD — It’s been quite the year or so for Ole Miss two-sport star Austin Simmons.
Simmons, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound redshirt freshman quarterback and left-handed pitcher from Miami, was originally committed to Florida in the 2025 recruiting class. Simmons then chose to take the road less traveled, reclassifying up two years to become a member of the 2023 class. He then committed to and enrolled at Ole Miss to play both football and baseball last summer.
One of the draws to Ole Miss, Simmons said, was being able to work with “a great offensive mind” like head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. He still says he learns something new at every meeting, and Simmons is fairly certain “you won’t get that anywhere else in the USA.”
Simmons threw for 3,253 yards and 27 touchdowns in his final high school season and struck out 154 batters in 80 innings on the mound. The transition from middle of high school to major university was not as drastic for Simmons as it otherwise could have been.
“Bouncing up from my sophomore year (of high school) to my freshman year (of college), I’ve been taking it pretty well,” Simmons said. “I’ve been living a lifestyle in my high school career as if I was in college. Waking up early, working out in the morning, doing academics, then going to practice. It’s always been my lifestyle, so this is nothing new for me.”
Simmons did not throw a pass as a true freshman for the Rebels behind Jaxson Dart and Spencer Sanders. He excelled on the mound in the spring, pitching 14 total innings out of the bullpen with a 3.21 ERA, 20 strikeouts and 11 walks. Simmons did not surrender a run over his final three appearances in 2024, though his season was cut short.
During an April 25 matchup with Alabama, Simmons left the game after feeling discomfort in his throwing elbow. He was later diagnosed with a sprained UCL and did not pitch the remainder of the season, avoiding surgery for traditional rehabilitation.
That rehab was a monster in its own right, Simmons said, and “it took a minute” to get accustomed to working through a bit of pain. Simmons said he started to feel better three weeks into his rehab program. The goal of the program, he said, was to build up strength around his UCL joint.
“A whole lot of plyo-ball care. Definitely a whole lot of massaging, really just a whole lot of chiropractor things,” Simmons said. “ … Basically throughout my whole body. Rebuilding myself, make sure I won’t really get injured in the future in any other body part.”
Simmons looked sharp as ever during the fall, his arm back to its explosive self. He beat out sophomore Walker Howard for the backup quarterback job and was the first man off the bench in the Rebels’ season opener. After Dart’s 418-yard, six-total touchdown first half, Simmons entered the game in the third quarter for his shot at the Paladins’ defense. His first-career pass attempt was a perfectly-placed 35-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Cayden Lee. Simmons finished the game 7 of 16 for 111 yards.
“It felt so surreal. It felt like a dream, honestly,” Simmons said of the touchdown. “It felt like I was reliving my first high school touchdown pass. Whole lot of emotions. It just felt great.”
Simmons said he is “pretty positive I’ll be back playing at Swayze (Field) next spring” assuming the ensuing MRI results go well. He was also asked whether his first college strikeout or touchdown pass felt better.
“Ooh,” Simmons said with a laugh before answering. “Definitely my first touchdown. There’s a lot more emotion in throwing a touchdown compared to a strikeout. You get a lot more opportunities in baseball. Football, you can’t really get those back. You only play so many football games.”
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