Mizzou Coach Bets His Job On A QB Whose Own Coach Called Him ‘The Next Tua’ Then Let Him Walk

On March 18, 2026, after Missouri’s final spring practice, Eli Drinkwitz stood in front of cameras and named Austin Simmons the starting quarterback for the 2026 season. It was decisive, early, and a statement. Simmons beat out UConn transfer Nick Evers and returning sophomore Matt Zollers, a kid who played for Mizzou in 2025. Drinkwitz said Simmons had “played at a really high level and high clip” when given his chances. What he did not say out loud, but everyone in the room understood, is that his own job security is now riding on a quarterback with 1,026 career passing yards across two seasons at his previous school.

The Numbers Don’t Lie, But They Don’t Tell The Whole Story Either

Here is what the stat sheet says about Austin Simmons: 1,026 career passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 5 interceptions over two playing seasons at Ole Miss. A TD-to-INT ratio that is nearly 1:1. Two starts in 2025 before injury ended his tenure. Here is what the stat sheet cannot say: in his very first start of the 2025 season, Simmons went 20-of-31 against Georgia State for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns, though he also threw 2 interceptions that day in a game Ole Miss won 63-7 against a Sun Belt opponent. That single game still represents 33% of his entire college passing total. One afternoon. Drinkwitz watched that film, watched spring practice, and decided the sample size was small, not the quarterback.

This Kid Is Not Your Average Transfer Portal Reclamation Project

Before you write Simmons off as a broken-down castoff, consider the full résumé. He graduated high school two years early, earned an associate’s degree before age 17, and already holds his bachelor’s from Ole Miss in multidisciplinary studies, pursuing a master’s while competing for a starting job in the SEC. At Pahokee High School in Florida, he threw for 3,242 yards and 24 touchdowns in a shortened career, breaking the school passing record that belonged to Anquan Boldin, the same Boldin who was Florida’s Mr. Football and went on to 1,076 receptions over a 14-year NFL career. His fastball tops out in the mid-90s, making him a legitimate two-sport prospect. Whatever Austin Simmons is, he is not ordinary.​

First Left-Handed QB In Missouri History And That’s Not An Accident

Simmons is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, and left-handed, and Drinkwitz says he would be the first left-handed starting quarterback in the Missouri program’s history. Drinkwitz addressed it directly: “If a left-handed quarterback is playing for you, they usually turn out to be really good, because they had to overcome a lot of bias.” That is either a genuine philosophical point about adversity building resilience, or a coach constructing a narrative around a roster decision that has already been made. Maybe both. What is not debatable is that left-handed quarterbacks force defensive coordinators to adjust pass-rush angles, pre-snap reads, and coverage leverage in ways they rarely practice. Simmons’ arm angle alone will be a problem for opposing defenses if he stays healthy.

The Kiffin Paradox Nobody Wants To Say Out Loud

Here is the irony that should make every Mizzou fan uneasy: if Austin Simmons genuinely has an unteachable gift… the Tua thing, the natural release, the instincts you cannot coach, then why did one of the most quarterback-obsessed coaches in college football let him walk to a conference rival? Kiffin did not run a hard pursuit to keep Simmons. He had Chambliss, and Chambliss was better right now. That is the honest answer. The portal does not reward loyalty — it rewards production. Chambliss gave Kiffin 3,937 passing yards, 527 rushing yards, and a Playoff run in one season. Simmons gave him 1,026 career yards across two. You do the math. Kiffin did.​

The Transfer Portal Didn’t Upgrade Mizzou — It Shuffled The Deck

The conventional wisdom about the transfer portal is that it lets programs find proven, plug-and-play starters. What actually happened in Missouri is a cautionary tale about how the portal actually works. Beau Pribula threw for 1,941 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025 before transferring out after injury. Not the flashiest numbers, but a body of evidence built over multiple games. Simmons has 1,026 career yards. On paper, that is not an upgrade; it is a bet on the ceiling over the floor. Chip Lindsey came in as the new offensive coordinator, and Garrett Riley came in as the new quarterbacks coach. New staff, no attachment to existing players, and a preference for acquiring their own portal. The portal did not fix Mizzou’s quarterback room. It emptied it and handed the keys to a stranger.

Drinkwitz Is 0-6 Against Ranked SEC Teams And Running Out Of Time

Let’s be direct about the stakes. Eli Drinkwitz was SEC Coach of the Year in 2023 after going 11-2 and beating Ohio State 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl. Since then, he is 0-6 against ranked SEC opponents over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Missouri went 5-0 to start 2025, then lost four of their final seven games and fell 13-7 to Virginia in the Gator Bowl, finishing 8-5. The hot-seat conversation is already happening. Naming Simmons QB1 this early, before fall camp, before the first depth chart, is not the move of a coach who feels comfortable. It is the move of a coach who needs momentum, needs a story, and needs his quarterback room settled so his new offensive staff can install a system without drama. Whether that reads as confidence or desperation depends entirely on what Simmons does in September.

He Promised People Would See Him Play. Then He Got Two Games

Before the 2025 season, Simmons addressed the skeptics with a quiet confidence that now reads as heartbreaking. He told ESPN, “One drive doesn’t really define me as a quarterback. People are going to see exactly how I play against better competition.” He got his chance. Game one — 341 yards and 3 touchdowns against Georgia State, plus 2 interceptions. Game two, an ankle buckles on a hit against Kentucky, and the season is over before it started. His replacement becomes a Heisman candidate and leads the team to the Playoff. Simmons enters the portal. The boldest, most honest promise a young quarterback could make, answered by the cruelest timing in college football. He has not yet had the chance to be wrong. He has not yet had the chance to be right. Mizzou is betting their season on one more attempt to find out which it is.​

Now It Is Mizzou’s Turn To Find Out If The Trailer Becomes A Movie

Every data point in Austin Simmons’ favor is a fragment. One electric game against Georgia State. One spring practice that convinced Eli Drinkwitz to name him QB1 before the calendar hits April. The case for Simmons is built entirely on previews, flashes of talent so bright that coaches keep handing him the job, and circumstances so unlucky that no full-length performance has ever followed. Now comes the real test: a full season in the SEC, a new offensive system, a coach whose career may depend on it, and a fanbase that watched a 5-0 start collapse into an 8-5 finish last year. If Simmons stays healthy and the ceiling is real, Drinkwitz looks like a genius. If the ankle goes again, or the TD-to-INT ratio holds, the 0-6 record against ranked opponents becomes the number everyone remembers. Spring practice ended on March 18. September is coming fast.

Sources

ESPN – ‘I’m made for it’: Austin Simmons gets his shot at Ole Miss (August 7, 2025)​
Ole Miss Athletics – Postgame Quotes vs. Georgia State (August 30, 2025)​
SEC Sports – Austin Simmons, No. 21 Ole Miss rout Georgia State (August 30, 2025)​
ESPN – Virginia 13-7 Missouri, Gator Bowl Final Score (December 27, 2025)​
Yahoo Sports / SI – Mizzou Names Austin Simmons the Starting Quarterback (March 19, 2026)​
Ole Miss Athletics – Trinidad Chambliss Roster & Stats​