Austin Simmons trolls Georgia State player who snatched chain before Week 1 matchup

Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons isn’t afraid to pour salt in the wound of his opponents. Ahead of the Rebels’ Week 1 showdown against Georgia State on Saturday, Panthers defensive back Tyler Scott snatched Ole Miss defensive end Da’Shawn Womack‘s chain from his neck and threw it into the stands.

Scott didn’t play in the game, and was forced to watch while the Rebels routed Georgia State in a 63-7 blowout. On Monday, Simmons recapped the victory with a post on Instagram that included several photos from the game, along with a screenshot of Scott’s player profile on ESPN.

In the win, Simmons completed 20-of-his-31 pass attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns, compared to two interceptions. Of course, he wasn’t the only one fired up from the pregame incident.

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After Womack had his chain stolen by Scott, police asked him if he’d like to press charges. Womack ultimately declined and instead delivered justice on the field. He finished the game with six tackles, including a tackle for loss.

He also got his chain back after the game. Following the victory, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin recounted the unusual pregame exchange.

“It was wild,” Kiffin said. “I thought our guys handled it really well. Probably better than I would have in that situation. That was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that. And I didn’t even know who the guy (Scott) was at the time.

“… “Complete disrespect… You guys hear me say all the time, everything bad is good and everything good is bad. It pissed Womack off. He was the defensive player of the game. Played amazing and as hard as he could in the game.”

Ole Miss will need to carry that fire into Week 2 for its first SEC showdown of the year against Kentucky. The Rebels should have plenty of bulletin board material, considering the Wildcats upset Ole Miss last season, and likely played a large role in the Rebels not making the College Football Playoff.

If Ole Miss wants to defeat the Wildcats this time around, it needs Austin Simmons to clean up some of the mistakes he had against Georgia State. After the win on Saturday, Kiffin evaluated his redshirt sophomore’s performance.

“He had one really bad play, the second interception,” Kiffin said. “The first one’s not his fault, the right guard gets beat. They’re in a blown coverage, we’re gonna score a 75-yard touchdown, walk in the end zone and the guy that blows the coverage picks it off. That’s not his fault. The other one is.

“We’ve seen that before with young quarterbacks, kind of almost the same interception we saw Jaxson [Dart] throw at home onto his right his first year. I thought he did some really good things. Scrambled the way that we would want, you know, slid and took care of himself, but also showed that he can move around and make some plays with his feet.”