The second day of January officially opens the transfer portal for college football, and Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons announced plans to jump in almost immediately.
Simmons started early in the season for the Rebels (13-1) for the first two games of the season before an ankle injury took him out for an extended period of time. Back-up Trinidad Chambliss stepped up and took the starting role for the rest of the season though Simmons has seen playing time in six games.
Finishing the season going
45/75 passing for 744 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions was not at all how he wanted this season to go. I don’t think anyone in the fanbase expected Simmons initially to be replaced by Chambliss, but life comes at us all fast in college football.
It’s really obvious Simmons has the arm talent to play at a very high level, and he’s only 20 years old. Rumors are swirling Simmons is likely to end up at Missouri, and the Tigers travel to Ole Miss in October 2026 for a game next season.
The other shoe Ole Miss is waiting to see drop is the eligibility waiver of Chambliss for another season potentially with the Rebels. If the NCAA denies his waiver, it would mean two players out of the quarterback room for Pete Golding for the 2026 season. Right now if nothing changed, it could mean freshman AJ Maddox (6’1”, 185 lbs) out of Hattiesburg, Miss. would be in the running for the starting job. There is also incoming prospect Rees Wise (6’2” 218 lbs.) from the early signing class headed to Oxford.
The portal is going to have a bevy of QB options with on3’s transfer tracker reporting more than 120 quarterbacks having entered or expected to enter the portal.
There’s always an outside chance Simmons possibly stays of course, and I don’t think Ole Miss fans would blink in welcoming him back into the fold. Simmons has been incredibly publicly supportive of Chambliss throughout this historic season, and it speaks volumes to his character to lead in that way.
