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Lane Kiffin Gets Brutally Honest About Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi Dombro | Last updated May 30, 2025 3:37 PM ET

The Ole Miss football program is in the midst of its most successful five-year stretch in recent memory. Head coach Lane Kiffin turned the program around upon accepting the job in 2020, and has qualified for five straight bowl games, including three wins.

However, the Rebels are undergoing plenty of change this offseason. Longtime starting quarterback Jaxson Dart is now in the NFL, as well as seven other starters who were drafted in late-April.

Replacing Dart, who was a first-round pick by the New York Giants, will be the tallest task that Kiffin and his staff face this season. Sophomore Austin Simmons is expected to be the heir to throne in Oxford this fall.

While Simmons has flashed at times in his young career for the Rebels, he is still an unproven commodity. Coach Kiffin got brutally honest about Simmons in a recent interview at the SEC league meetings.

“He’s uniquely composed," Kiffin said. "But there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Simmons played in nine games for Ole Miss last season as a backup, connecting on 19 of his 32 pass attempts for a measly 59.4% completion percentage. However, he threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and he added 14 rushing yards as well.

His best moment from last season was when he entered the Georgia game after Dart went down with an injury. Simmons rose to the occasion, completing five of his six passes for 64 yards and leading the Rebels on a touchdown drive.

The jury is still out on whether or not Simmons can lead this team to an 11-win campaign like Dart did, but Kiffin seems cautiously optimistic about his chances.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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