The Tigers landed Ole Miss transfer quarterback Austin Simmons in the portal, and appear to have their next starting signal-caller for 2026. Simmons was slated to start for the Rebels this past season, but an injury derailed his year, and so he entered the portal look for a new opportunity.
While most folks in Missouri are thrilled with the prospect of pairing Simmons with Ahmad Hardy and Eli Drinkwitz, the signing hasn't garnered much national acclaim. It would seem that analyst Josh Pate would tend to agree with the locals. He spoke on the Ole Miss transfer in his latest video.
“I don’t know why a bigger deal’s not being made of this," said Pate. "Maybe it is and I missed it. But this is a huge deal to me. It’s extremely underrated. What is it rated? Well, it doesn’t look rated very high. He was the No. 115 overall player in the On3 Portal Rankings. I’m not on the committee. I disagree. Clean up turnovers and get him healthy and that’s a really good player. Eli Drinkwitz got himself a quarterback that I didn’t know that they were going to be able to get. They got him.”
Austin Simmons could be the pickup of the year for Mizzou
While true freshman Matt Zollers looks to be the future of the program, he didn't seem ready just yet in the Tigers' 13-7 loss to Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Enter Simmons, who hasn't played all that much in his college career with just 64 career completions, but has all the tools to be an elite player.
Mizzou has done fairly well in the portal so far, reeling in the No. 18 ranked class so far according to 247Sports, and Simmons is the highlight of the class. While he may not be the splashiest addition due to his injury history, he's one of the best under-the-radar quarterbacks due to his rocket arm and high IQ.
While the portal enters a short dead period, the Tigers will be putting together their options for likely another edge player and a cornerback among others. Still, an offense with Simmons and Hardy looks pretty lethal on paper.