Lane Kiffin explains decision to not start Austin Simmons vs. Arkansas

The quarterback position has become both a question mark and, seemingly, a point of strength for Ole Miss. While injuries have mounted, Ole Miss has gotten good play from both starter Austin Simmons and backup Trinidad Chambliss. That’s been a major help to head coach Lane Kiffin, who was forced to turn to Chambliss against Arkansas.

While Simmons was able to briefly play against Arkansas, it was Chambliss who would start. That’s coming off an ankle injury that Simmons has been dealing with. So, while he was capable of playing in the game, Kiffin chose to go with Chambliss to keep the playbook open.

“Obviously, Austin was available to play just like the report and he played,” Lane Kiffin said. “Just a lot went into it. Just taking a lot of information in and making that decision really late. I just thought schematically, there was a lot of things against them that we should run that were quarterback runs or where he had reads and I didn’t really want to play Austin in that situation and get him hurt worse running him.”

Kiffin was proven right against Arkansas. Chambliss completed 21 of 29 passes for 353 yards and one passing touchdown. He also had 52 rushing yards and another two touchdowns on the ground. It was a phenomenal performance from the Ferris State transfer.

At one point, Chambliss did have to come out of the game because his hand was bleeding, which forced a banged-up Simmons into the game. He played well in that time too. He would throw a touchdown pass and run around in that time, but left the game with a significant limp when Chambliss was able to return.

“Then he came in and we had to check to a run on a play,” Kiffin said. “And he made the big first down, and I think he re-aggravated it. So, Austin’s going to be a great player, and he has done great things for us. I just had to make a decision today to go with Trinidad. I guess, luckily, it worked. It’s easier to answer the question when it worked.”

As Kiffin noted, Simmons reaggravated his injury against Arkansas. That’s going to likely put Ole Miss in a similar situation next week against Tulane. Things can change over the course of the week, but for the time being, Ole Miss should feel confident if Chambliss needs to start over Simmons again.