Austin Simmons blossoming into one of the SEC’s top gunslingers
Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons drops back to attempt a pass against Kansas Friday September 11, 2026 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The senior quarterback is off to hot start in his first season with Missouri, and everyone is noticing what he’s capable of accomplishing on the gridiron.
Last year Austin Simmons was an Ole Miss Rebel, who played behind All-SEC performer Trinidad Chambliss, and experienced the program’s deep run into the Playoffs. Now he’s building a legacy with the Tigers, and it appears the sky’s the limit for their offense with Simmons behind center.
After all, he’s coming off a stellar performance in the 38-21 road win over rival Kansas. Simmons showed poise, an accurate arm and the ability to put the ball in tight windows. Most importantly, he made others around him better, and that’s what great quarterbacks do.
Simmons completed 19 of his 29 passes for 296 yards, and three touchdowns. The Jayhawks’ defense had no answer for him, and Simmons was able to read them with ease. He helped Missouri carve up 469 yards of total offense. Not to mention he led the unit on six scoring drives. Simmons credits the offensive success to all of the hard work he put in with his teammates over the past eight months, and believes the best is yet to come.
“I would say the mentality of this whole offensive unit is they want to put in the work, and make sure that we key in on all the small details each and every play,” Simmons said. “Communication on and off the sideline, really making sure that we are all on the same page, and I know exactly where they are on the field.”
He never flinched in front of the rowdy crowd, or when Missouri trailed Kansas by a touchdown in the first half. Instead Simmons embraced the road environment, and stuck to the game plan. Coach Eliah Drinkwitz made some adjustments at halftime, and the Tigers came out on fire in the second half. However, a light bulb had to come on for the defense to play complimentary football, and Simmons took over from there.
The Miami native threw a touchdown to David Olugbode, and Brett Norfleet over the final 30 minutes, and Missouri outscored Kansas 24-7 in the second half. At the end of the night, the Tigers led the Jayhawks in total offense, rushing yards, passing yards, plays, yards per play, first downs, third down conversions and time of possession. In Simmons eyes, Missouri dominated.
“Once we get into a rhythm there’s nothing really stopping us in my opinion,” he said. “Honestly we gotta keep on going, no matter what.”
Now the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder has passed for 548 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions through the first two games. Simmons is putting the entire SEC on notice with that type of passing production, and still has another tune up game against Troy before Missouri jumps into SEC play.
“It feels really good to go out there and execute the game plan,” the 20-year old said. “We went through a lot of work with the game plan, walked through some plays outside of practice too, and honestly it just showed up.”
Regardless of beating a rival on the road, Simmons refuses to stay complacent, knowing there’s still a lot to improve on. The offense has to minimize the silly penalties, and hold onto the football. The No. 24 Tigers are on the rise though, with an offense that can put points on the board, and Simmons intends on leading the team to the promised land one game at a time.
“This is a team that’ll never back down from anything, and we’re going to face adversity on some of the road games in the future, but it feels great to get the win.”
