Austin Simmons injury update: Lane Kiffin shares update on Ole Miss QB, plan for Trinidad Chambliss

There’s a saying that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. That’s because, in most cases, teams are choosing from between multiple options that aren’t exactly ideal. That isn’t the case at Ole Miss, though. Head coach Lane Kiffin has multiple options at quarterback, and they’ve both been excellent to this point in the season.

Ole Miss came into the season starting Austin Simmons at quarterback. However, an injury in Week 2 knocked him out and forced Division II transfer Trinidad Chambliss into action. He took college football by storm in his time as the starter, most recently knocking off LSU. Now, Kiffin is faced with this quarterback controversy.

Kiffin appeared on Nonstop, with Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway, on Monday. There, he shared the latest on that quarterback situation. That included an update on Simmons, who he says is still progressing in his recovery.

“Obviously, it’s abnormal that your starting quarterback got hurt and your backup quarterback comes in and played so great,” Lane Kiffin said. “And has done such a great job over these three weeks. So, we definitely learned that we have two really good quarterbacks.”

Austin Simmons came to Ole Miss as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023 and would earn the job going into the season. He’s been relatively limited due to an ankle injury. In that time, he’s completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 580 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also been dressing while not 100 percent, able to play in emergency situations.

As for Trinidad Chambliss, he came to Ole Miss this offseason as a transfer from Ferris State. He won a national championship there. Now, he’s completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 1,033 yards and five touchdowns.

“Yeah, it’s a great problem to have,” Kiffin said. “I don’t know that answer yet because we’re not there yet. We don’t play this week. Austin’s still getting back to 100 percent. He was playing great when he got hurt. Even came in when he was still hurt and played and threw a touchdown in Arkansas the other week. So, it’s a really good situation to have.”

For now, Lane Kiffin does have time to punt on the quarterback decision. Ole Miss has a bye week, giving Simmons more time to get healthy, while both hit the practice field ahead of their next game against Washington State.

Lane Kiffin praises Austin Simmons for supporting Trinidad Chambliss

Austin Simmons is in a difficult situation, having his starting job get tested by a backup due to injury. Despite that, Lane Kiffin has praised him for how he’s handled it and supported Trinidad Chambliss in the process.

“Yeah, Austin has been a stud. Battling his way back through injury, being ready to play today. He would have done a great job. If he was fully healthy, he would have went in there,” Kiffin said.

“And, you know, says a lot about him, because that’s not easy. It’s not easy. You’ve been waiting to be the starter for a couple years, waiting for Jaxson [Dart] to leave. And so, really proud of him in how he’s handled that.”