Austin Simmons injury update: Ole Miss QB 're-aggravated' ankle injury vs. Arkansas
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin didn’t want to see quarterback Austin Simmons go into the game with his ankle injury Saturday night vs. Arkansas. Instead, he did though in the 2nd quarter and “re-aggravated” the injury on a run call.
“Austin came in and made a huge touchdown throw. Unfortunately, I think Austin hurt himself on that drive, but I am really proud of Austin for going out there and making a big play in the situation,” Kiffin said in his postgame press conference. “We had to check to a run on a play, 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.”
Starter Trinidad Chambliss had a huge night leading the Rebels to the 41-35 win, but Simmons did throw a touchdown pass after that run. Chambliss was out during that time with a hand injury.
Chambliss finished 21-of-29 for 353 yards and one passing touchdown along with 15 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Chambliss’ 415 total yards of offense are the most for an Ole Miss quarterback in his first start since Jordan Ta’amu’s 444 vs. Arkansas in 2017.
Discuss Simmons, Chambliss and the Rebels on the Rebel Grove message board.
As far as Simmons goes, he was the team’s starting quarterback entering the season, but Kiffin quickly built trust with Chambliss. When Simmons was hurt in the Kentucky game with an ankle injury, Kiffin didn’t hesitate to put him in and it worked, thanks in part to Chambliss’ ‘it’ factor.
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“That’s kind of a million dollar question what it’s comprised of. That’s why it’s called IT. You know, it’s just a factor,” Kiffin said. “We saw it obviously on his game tape, and then we saw it in scrimmages when we went in the stadium. Even as he was learning the offense and didn’t know everything, he just found a way to, you know, kind of have some magic about him. So he did it today. And the most thing I’m proud of is the way he took care of the ball in the game.”
Simmons wants to be out there for Ole Miss, who faces an undefeated Tulane team this week then LSU next week.
“Austin’s a competitor,” Kiffin said. “Austin’s a great player, 19 years old, and it’s unbelievable what he’s already done in his career academically, baseball and football. So he’s very competitive and wanted to go in there and wanted to play and fought through an injury all week to get ready to play. And luckily he did because it was a huge touchdown that he made for us.”
After being available this week, all eyes will be on Kiffin’s updates this week around Simmons’ ankle.
