On3’s JD PicKell: Austin Simmons “put on a Mona Lisa” drive vs. Georgia, deserves more hype
On3 this week released the Top 20 QB in college football, according to rankings in EA’s College Football ’26, which comes out in five days. Ole Miss first-year starter Austin Simmons wasn’t even listed.
Simmons flying under the radar has been a theme of the off-season.
Simmons is taking over for three-year record-setter Jaxson Dart, a first-round NFL Draft selection of the New York Giants. Dart threw for 4,729 yards, 29 touchdowns and an SEC-leading 329.2 yards last season. The SEC named him all-conference.
Simmons received playing time for the first time in his career and completed 19 of 32 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in nine games.
“Austin Simmons is a super exciting first-year starting quarterback that I think maybe gets a little bit under-talked about,” On3 national analyst JD PicKell said on his ‘Hard Count’ podcast. “Hand up; that’s on me as well. Austin Simmons put on a Mona Lisa of a drive against Georgia when Jaxson Dart went down in the first quarter in that game a year ago. People forget now, too, Georgia was up in that game when Austin Simmons came into the football game. Down 7-0 and just won the drive itself. Was awesome. Led a phenomenal scoring drive to tie it up.
“But my expectations for him quite frankly are more of what you saw in that drive against Georgia. Why? Because that proved to me against 5-star competition on the defensive side of the football for Georgia Austin Simmons can hang. He can do it. He’s got the physical tools [and] the poise. All those things.”
RELATED: ‘We may be underestimating them’: On3 bullish on Ole Miss’ playoff chances
Ole Miss last season won 10 games for the third time in four years.
Simmons was a redshirt freshman and raised eyebrows with his impressive spot duty for Dart in the Rebels’ 28-10 win over Georgia, arguably the season’s most memorable moment.
Simmons is one of a projected 18 new starters for the Rebels next season.
“He’s an elite talent,” Dart said of Simmons. “I haven’t really seen anybody like him who can spin the ball with his arm talent. He’s going to take a huge step leadership-wise. I think they’re going to pick up where we left off.”
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Ole Miss opened the Georgia game in the worst possible way. Dart threw an interception on the Rebels’ first drive, and Georgia turned it into the game’s first touchdown. He was hobbled and had to come out of the game. The Bulldogs had all momentum.
The 6-foot-4, lefty-throwing Simmons swung the game back in the Rebels’ favor — relieving the injured Dart and impressively engineering a game-tying touchdown march.
Simmons completed five of his six passes for 64 yards in his one and only appearance of the game.
Included was a fourth-down conversion pass.
“The other part of this, too, that should not be overlooked is the fact that on that drive when Jaxson Dart goes down, kind of an ugly weather game,” PicKell said. “A little bit of rain. Could imagine the ball maybe being a little bit slick. Again, down 7-0, you would not fault Lane Kiffin if he just said, ‘Hey, Austin, let’s just get out of this drive and get you comfortable. Run the football a little bit. We’ll punt it away. Let’s just kind of take a breath here.’
“Lane Kiffin came out swinging on that drive and they threw the ball multiple times. A couple of big throws from Austin Simmons, one of which being a 20-yard completion. Austin Simmons was dealing on that drive and Lane Kiffin was not pulling the reins back. Instead, he was pushing the gas forward. Tells you everything you need to know about what Lane Kiffin thinks about Austin Simmons.”
PicKell believes Simmons’ Georgia effort alone is reason enough to talk more about him.
“We should trust Lane Kiffin when it comes to assessing quarterbacks,” PicKell said. “He’s had some good ones. My expectation for Austin Simmons? More of what we saw against Georgia. He’s proven he can do it.”
