College football prospect Austin Simmons is now a Rebel with a cause.
Make that a future member of the Ole Miss Rebels.
The four-star quarterback recruit announced over the weekend that he would be de-committing from the University of Florida and committing to Ole Miss as part of the class of 2023.
The announcement came in an Instagram post along with the news Simmons would reclassify to the class of 2023, joining the SEC school a full two years earlier than originally expected.
Simmons had been listed as part of the class of 2025 when he committed to play for the Gators and after jumping to Ole Miss, he is expected to be at OTAs next week, according to USA Today.
“Basically, just did accelerated learning,” Simmons told the Coach Me Coach Podcast about his decision. “I started that when I was a freshman and just started taking college courses in high school.”
Rivals had Simmons ranked as the No. 3 passer in the class of 2025 and 247Sports listed the QB as the 63rd overall prospect in his class prior to the reclassification.
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For Pahokee High School in Florida last year, Simmons threw 3,242 yards and 24 touchdowns, while surpassing Anquan Bolden for the school record in passing yards in a season, The Palm Beach Post reported.
As for the decision to jump ship from Florida to Ole Miss, Simmons said that head coach Lane Kiffin and quarterbacks coach Charlie Weis Jr. played a big role.
“Our relationship got really close while I was up there; started talking football,” Simmons said on the podcast, “…and shoot, I just felt like I could really develop over there, prepare for the next level.”
Equally as impressive as his skills on the field was his ability to excel academically to put himself in a position to make the jump to college two years early at the age of 17.
Simmons carried a 5.34 GPA while being homeschooled and finished his high school requirements by the time he was 16.
Additionally, Simmons is an accomplished baseball player and he will continue to play while at Ole Miss, telling the Coach Me Coach Podcast that he’ll play outfield and pitch.
