Elite QB Austin Simmons flips from Florida to Ole Miss football, will arrive two years early
OXFORD — Ole Miss football has always been willing to embrace the unorthodox under coach Lane Kiffin, and the Rebels are once again the subject of a unique college football story after they received a pledge from quarterback Austin Simmons on Saturday.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Simmons, listed as a Class of 2025 prospect, will reclassify ahead by two cycles and join the Rebels as part of their 2023 class. Simmons had previously been committed to play for Florida.
"Basically, just did accelerated learning," Simmons told the Coach Me Coach Podcast. "I started that when I was a freshman and just started taking college courses in high school."
Simmons was ranked as the No. 63 overall prospect in the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports Composite, as well as the No. 4 quarterback. 247Sports has not listed a rating for him in the 2023 class.
The native of Moore Haven, Florida, committed to play for the Gators in April. He joins a quarterback room in Oxford that includes Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard.
Simmons was also slated to play baseball at Florida, and he told the Coach Me Coach Podcast that he plans to play for coach Mike Bianco's program at Ole Miss as well as a pitcher and an outfielder.
He said he plans to arrive on campus in about a week.
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David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss lands Florida QB commit and two-sport athlete Austin Simmons
