Late in the 4th quarter of Ole Miss' 30-23 victory of the Kentucky Wildcats, QB Austin Simmons had to be helped off the field after what appeared to be a lower leg injury. Simmons was shaky, especially early on, but he helped the Rebels rally back for the win. He completed 13 of his 24 passing attempts for 235 yards, but also tossed two early interceptions. He added 8 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown.
The injury does not appear a concern moving forward. Head coach Lane Kiffin commented on the injury in his postgame press conference, saying that although he didn't see the field after getting banged up, he could have if the Rebels needed him to. Luckily, a serious injury was avoided.
Kiffin also talked about how he felt the young south paw performed in his first SEC start: "Winning on the road in the SEC, as you group into that a young quarterback’s first SEC game period, let alone road game, he rushed some things early. But I thought he rallied and made some really good throws and runs that were very critical in the game.”
Austin Simmons is going to be just fine following his Ole Miss injury scare
It also seemed like the coaching staff had a plan to utilize backup QB Trinidad Chambliss in the closing drive, hoping to employ his ability to run the ball. Kiffin said following the game, “Austin was okay to go back in and showed a lot of courage. Kind of the opposite of the Georgia game for Jaxson. And, you know, so he was ready to go. … We just had a plan there. Wanted to go to Trinidad with Austin not being full speed, and it was good.”
Simmons briefly commented after the game that it was a little injury and that he will be good to go. That is what early reports are indicating. It seems that it is a lower-ankle sprain which shouldn't cost him to miss any game time. However, it could limit him in practice this week and could hinder some mobility in the coming weeks. The Rebels will return to the Vaught to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.