Austin Simmons spent one recruiting cycle on Florida’s side before the path changed, and now the Gators are the team standing in front of him.
Missouri’s starting quarterback, a former Florida commit, brings his Tigers into Saturday’s game with a 65% completion rate, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions in 2026. For Florida, that makes this matchup feel like one of those recruiting what-ifs that never really goes away.
Simmons originally committed to Florida in April of 2023 as a class of 2025 prospect. At the time, the plan looked straightforward: Florida would land DJ Lagway for 2024, then Simmons would arrive the next year. When Simmons first surfaced on Florida’s radar in March of 2023, he drew strong praise for the way he threw the ball.
“He can make all throws you want to see in a highlight package. His deep shots hit his receivers in stride as do his slant route throws. He also can hit the out route, something a certain former Florida football QB struggled with.
Simmons doesn’t have much wasted motion when he throws and when scanning the field he will flip his hips quickly when opting to throw to the other side of the field. The handful of times he does get pressure he stays poised and will climb the pocket as needed.”
By June, the situation had shifted again. There were rumblings that Simmons would reclassify from the class of 2025 to 2023, and after some confusion, that’s exactly what happened. He reclassified - and flipped to Ole Miss at the same time.
When that flip happened, his father said: “But the schedule is too tough, and they want DJ Lagway.”
Simmons stayed in Oxford from 2023 through 2025 and opened last season as the Rebels’ starting quarterback. An ankle injury in week two changed that, and Trinidad Chambliss took over.
Lane Kiffin then left for LSU after the season, but Simmons did not follow him. Instead, he landed at Missouri.
There’s a sharp twist to all of it. If Simmons had arrived in Gainesville in 2023, he very likely would have seen the field. Graham Mertz was injured that season, and rather than Max Brown stepping in, it could have been Simmons.
And if he had been there in 2023, there’s another layer to wonder about: would he have had the inside track to become the backup quarterback in 2024, setting up a path to the starting job later on?
That question will never get answered. What Florida does know is that it now has to deal with the quarterback who once looked bound for Gainesville.
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Mississippi State, though, has shown it can make a quarterback uncomfortable. The Bulldogs have piled up nine sacks this season, and that pressure could be the variable that decides whether Alabama gets to settle in early or spends the afternoon adjusting on the fly. For Mississippi State, the defense does not need to win the game by itself, but it does need to keep the Tide from getting too comfortable. [Read more 🡒]
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Mississippi State Gets Its Biggest Test Yet With Alabama Coming To Town
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The Bulldogs have built their own buzz around quarterback Kamario Taylor, who has been one of the standouts of the season so far, and the home crowd will get a first real look at how that translates against elite competition. Alabamas recent track record and momentum make it the favorite on paper, but Mississippi State enters with a spotless record and the kind of confidence that only comes when a team has earned its way into the conversation. The game should answer plenty about where the Bulldogs stand, even if not every question gets settled by kickoff. [Read more 🡒]