OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons met with the local media on Monday as the Rebels gear up to take on the Georgia State Panthers on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Simmons is the starting quarterback for the red and blue after Jaxson Dart got picked 25th overall by the New York Giants in the NFL Draft.
As Simmons and the Rebels come out of preseason camp, school started at Ole Miss on Monday.
“I really thought about today being the first day of school,” Simmons said. “Getting here early and getting a parking spot because everyone likes to be ‘Johnny Scholar’ in the morning. Just getting here early and being on time, and showing up for my early morning meeting.”
Over the course of preseason camp, Simmons has seen himself progress from the first scrimmage to the last.
“I definitely say that I grew like to be a better overall leader on and off the field,” he said. “Just doing those minor corrections off the field, when we hit adversity, and I definitely see a lot of progression over time. Like managing the offense, driving down the field.”
Head coach Lane Kiffin discussed on Monday how Simmons has progressed throughout camp.
“Austin had a really good Saturday night and performed really well,” Kiffin said. “We continue to emphasize, you know, one of the things why we’ve had a really good record here and performed really well is not just the offensive stats and the most passing yards and all that.
“It’s been taking care of the football at that position and doing a really good job of that. So that’s, of course, a big emphasis, and especially with a first-time starter, to make sure that that’s the number one emphasis for him. So we’re excited.”
Simmons has played in front of Rebel Nation inside the Vaught last season against Ferman and Georgia. On Saturday, it will be another rockin’ crowd.
“The pop here is like actual crazy last year in the Georgia game, I think that’s the loudest like environment I’ve been in my life,” Simmons said. “We have definitely been in a lot of rowdy environments like LSU last year and Georgia in 2023. It’s been really fun playing in those types of environments. So, I’m really looking forward to this year at home.”
Simmons and the rest of his teammates take the field Saturday in the season opener against Georgia State. Kickoff is at 6:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.
