Ole Miss Rebels football QB Austin Simmons has taken unique baseball, reclassification path

Austin Simmons has taken one of the most unique paths to being an SEC starting quarterback.

The Ole Miss QB traveled a journey that included baseball and a wild reclassification to reach this point.

Now, the Rebels will hope that all pays off in the form of a big season.

Simmons was originally a recruit in the Class of 2025. He was supposed to be a freshman this fall.

But after his sophomore season of high school in Florida, he reclassified to the 2023 class and flipped his commitment from UF to Ole Miss.

His freshman fall at Ole Miss began as a 17-year old.

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He was a backup that year, and he also continued his baseball career that was immensely promising in high school. As a reliever in spring 2024, Simmons had a 3.21 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14 innings.

The lefty was the direct backup to Jaxson Dart last season.

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Now, it's Simmons' turn.

"Sophomore Austin Simmons' story is incredibly unique -- a flame-throwing lefty pitcher, he graduated from high school two years early -- but he's almost completely untested, and stop me if you've heard this before, but we won't know he's ready until he proves it," writes ESPN's Bill Connelly.

Dart threw darts. Ole Miss hopes Simmons does, too.

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