Austin David Simmons (born November 8, 2005) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

. He also plays for the

Ole Miss Rebels baseball The Ole Miss Rebels baseball team represents the University of Mississippi in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They are currently coached by Mike Bianco and play at Swayze Fie ...

team.

Early life

Simmons attended

Pahokee High School Pahokee High School (also known as Pahokee Junior Senior High School) is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is currently located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The Old Pahokee High School building on E. Main St. was added to ...

Pahokee, Florida Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 5,524 in the 2020 census. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, ...

before transferring to Moore Haven Junior Senior High School in

Moore Haven, Florida Moore Haven is a city in, and the county seat of, Glades County, Florida, Glades County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida Heartland region. The population was 1,566 at the 2020 census, down from 1,680 at the 2010 census. Moore H ...

. As a sophomore he passed for 3,253 yards and 27 touchdowns. Simmons reclassified from the 2025 to 2023 recruiting class. He originally committed to play college football at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

before changing his commitment to the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. While enrolled in high school, Simmons was also enrolled and earning college credits at

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

, completing an associate degree from that school before turning 17. He received a bachelor's degree from Ole Miss in May 2025.

College career

2023 Season

Simmons was the third-string quarterback throughout 2023 season. As a result, Simmons was redshirted. After the season, he appeared in 13 games as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

on the baseball team, going 2–0 with 3.21

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 20 strikeouts over 14 innings pitched.

2024 Season

Simmons began his redshirt freshman year in 2024 as the backup to senior quarterback

Jaxson Dart Jaxson Chase Dart (born May 13, 2003) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels. Dart was selected by the Gia ...

. In his first collegiate game, he recorded 7 completions, 111 yards, and he threw his first career touchdown pass. He made minor appearances in relief against

Middle Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, to ...

, Wake Forest,

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

, and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

before helping the Rebels break or tie single-game team passing records in yards and touchdowns against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Simmons threw for 47 yards and a touchdown finishing an Ole Miss victory of 63-32. On November 9th, 2024, Simmons came off the bench versus

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

for a crucial first quarter drive following a minor injury to

, Simmons went 5-of-6 for 64 yards and led his team to the endzone ultimately giving the Rebels the offensive spark they needed to get a 28-10 victory. Football statistics

Baseball

Baseball statistics

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels football bioOle Miss Rebels baseball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Austin 2005 births Living people Players of American football from Miami American football quarterbacks Baseball pitchers Miami Dade College alumni Ole Miss Rebels football players Ole Miss Rebels baseball players