SEC Quarterback Provides Honest Assessment of Ole Miss Football's Austin Simmons

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels wrapped up 2025 SEC Media Days on Monday with the program gearing up for the upcoming season in Oxford.

Kiffin was accompanied by quarterback Austin Simmons, wide receiver Cayden Lee and linebacker TJ Dottery to field questions from the media.

It's set to be a new era in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with Ole Miss ready to roll out Simmons as QB1 this upcoming season.

After record-setting signal-caller Jaxson Dart departed for the 2025 NFL Draft this offseason, all eyes are on Simmons to carry the torch this fall.

There's a belief in the left-handed quarterback and what he can provide the program.

The Ole Miss locker room has bought into Simmons along with the coaching staff, but those within the Rebels program aren't the only ones believing in the first-year starter.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning has spent time with Simmons where he's had an opportunity to break down his game.

Both Manning and Simmons have had similar paths in the sense of sitting back and waiting behind veteran quarterbacks.

“They’ve got a really good coach and a really good team. Spent some time with Austin a few weeks ago. He’s a really good guy. He’s got a helluva arm. They’re in for a good year," Manning said at SEC Media Days.

Ole Miss is a "sleeper" heading into the 2025 season with significant buzz surrounding the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers.

SEC Network's Paul Finebaum has a belief in Texas, but has his eye on Alabama as a program that can shine this upcoming season.

“I think it’s Alabama,” Finebaum said this week on Get Up. “A lot of people, amazingly, have forgotten about Alabama. Without Nick Saban, they missed the Playoff. They’ve lost more games than they have since 2007. I believe they’re better at quarterback.

"That sounds crazy, with Ty Simpson against Jalen Milroe, who was amazing at times, but also terrible at times. I think they have elite wide receivers. They have probably the second-best wide receiver in the country in Ryan Williams. Their defense is going to be top-notch.

“They also go to Georgia. The problem there is Georgia lost Alabama (last season), so a little bit of a revenge game. But I think they manage their season very well.”

But Finebaum's colleague, Heather Dinich, is riding with the Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers as contenders to take down Texas.

“I would say it’s hard not to say Georgia, because of the history, but we know more about LSU, with Brian Kelly and Garrett Nussmeier,” Dinich responded. “They have me convinced that this team is capable of competing at the championship level.

“A lot of that has to do with the depth, the improvements that they have on defense, and simply Nussmeier taking the next step as a quarterback, cutting back on some of those interceptions that can be forced, with his ability to run the ball. I’m looking for improvement out of him. I would say LSU is going to get into the Playoff at the expense of Alabama.”

All eyes will be on Simmons and the Ole Miss Rebels as the 2025 season inches closer with the program opening the year against Georgia State on August 30.