Austin Simmons reacts to Shohei Ohtani comparison

When Paul Finebaum is interviewing the Ole Miss starting quarterback, you do not expect the name Shohei Ohtani to pop up. But with the baseball background of Austin Simmons, the conversation of his past was discussed. This comes after high praise from his father, beaming about his two-way baseball ability.

“He’s a better baseball player than a football player,” Davis Simmons said back in May via CBS Sports. “A lot of people have no idea. He could be (Shohei) Ohtani. If he didn’t play football, he would be Ohtani.”

Austin Simmons was a two-way player during high school. When he was not on the mound as a left-hander, he was in the outfield and in the batter’s box raking. Similar to what Ohtani has done throughout his career and soon will again do for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But for the first time, Simmons had an opportunity to respond to those comments made by his father. He was surprised that Ohtani was the comparison given out. Ole Miss never gave him the chance to showcase his dual ability but Simmons appears confident he could have gotten the job done.

“I was surprised he said Shohei,” Simmons said via The Paul Finebaum Show. “I’m not sure how many two-way players there are in the league but hey, Shohei is one of them. I loved playing both. I loved playing in the outfield, it was a fun process. I felt like I could take both to the next level if I wanted to but things didn’t happen that way.”

Simmons made 13 appearances for Ole Miss baseball during the 2024 season. His numbers are quite eye-popping too as an arm out of the bullpen, sporting a 3.21 ERA in 14.0 innings pitched, adding 20 strikeouts while walking 11. Just like he does in football, Simmons threw from the left side. Head coach Mike Bianco never sent Simmons to the plate.

A decision had to be made by Simmons, though. Going full-time in one sport was going to be a requirement, especially as his role in the football program increased. Playing quarterback wound up being the choice, one Simmons admitted was tough.

“It was definitely hard,” Simmons said of choosing football. “Baseball was my first sport, surprisingly. Some people thought I played football first. But really, it was a tough process, probably one of the toughest decisions I’ll ever make in my life. I love both and it was really fun playing both. I just thought playing football was the best decision for me and my family.”