Mizzou is ‘only school to watch’ in Austin Simmons pursuit, per report
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Mizzou might have its starting quarterback for the 2026 season on the way, courtesy of a rival SEC program.
With Austin Simmons bolting from Ole Miss after this season and heading to the transfer portal, Mizzou was proclaimed as the “only school to watch in this recruitment,” according to a report on Friday afternoon by On3’s Pete Nakos. Simmons began the 2025 season as the starter in Oxford, but fate got in his way, with an injury taking him out of the lineup, Trinidad Chambliss taking over at the helm and the Rebels rolling to a College Football Playoff berth behind Chambliss.
Simmons was left behind in the magical story of the 2025 Rebels, and now he’ll be seeking a new start somewhere else in 2026. That new locale just might be Mizzou, with Friday’s On3 report joining a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday that the Tigers were “the favorite” to land Simmons in the portal.
These two reports indicating Simmons is leaning toward transferring to Mizzou would make sense. The Tigers are searching for their next starting quarterback for 2026 after 2025 starter Beau Pribula reportedly decided to enter the portal, too.
So, it could be a seamless transition from Pribula to Simmons in Columbia, and if these reports come to fruition then Simmons could very well be Eli Drinkwitz‘s answer at the helm next fall.
Simmons has registered 1,026 yards passing, 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions thus far during his collegiate career.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
