cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Austin Simmons /Ole Miss

Austin Simmons

QB · Ole Miss · So · #13

Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.

744 PASS YDS · 4 PASS TD · 71 RUSH YDS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Ole Miss for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Ole Miss for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Quarterback · Ole Miss

Returning around him

  • 18% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 2 Ole Miss players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +3 net (28 in / 25 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Ole Miss · Last season: 13-2 (AP #6) · Talent rank #21 · 2026 recruiting class #16

QB · OLE MISS · SEC

Austin Simmons

  • 2
  • #13
  • 6-4 | 215 lb
  • Moore Haven, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

46

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by yards / att at the 99th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#462

<1% win probability

Fan Belief

Awaiting

Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.

Respect Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

Reality Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

ACCOLADE PROBABILITY

Heisman

<1%

TOP QB AWARD

Davey O'Brien

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#292 national
CFB
College
Ole Miss
2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionQB
Class2
Jersey13
Measurements6-4 | 215 lb
HometownMoore Haven, FL
Primary teamOle Miss

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 4-star No. 292 recruit
Composite rating 0.9059 HighSchool
Signed with Ole Miss 2023
Origin Moore Haven Moore Haven, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 4-star | 0.9059 No. 292 recruit | HighSchool | Ole Miss

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file
Latest destination -- --
Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD
Season Move Context
No transfer portal moves on file for this player.

Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final

Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.

HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16
Current nowcast#462Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#328Where the full season sim points
Win probability0.0%Chance to actually win the trophy
Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier
Ballot probability0.0%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot
Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

Heisman Futures

Not yet listed on major futures markets.

No achievements unlocked yet this season.

Selector Grid · 2025

AP
FWAA
AFCA
WCFF
SN
SI

Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★★☆

to Ole Miss

Composite

0.9059

#292 national

Today’s Hot-Take

The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.

Anti-Take

PENDING

The contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.

The Room on Austin Simmons

Fan sentiment ·

Belief Meter

47

Mixed Sentiment

Sample 17 mentions
Confidence MEDIUM

Top Take

Trajectory

Cohort divergence mapbearishbullishheatedcalmOwn fans: 17 mentions · belief -6 · "A week ago, I examined how Chip Lindsey and Austin Simmons could impact Missouri"Own fansRivals: 2 mentions · belief +0 · "18 minutes ago al.com Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer reacts to Auburn football’s Iro"RivalsNational: 3 mentions · belief +0 · "Austin Simmons might be that guy"National
  • Own fans · n=17
  • Rivals · n=2
  • National · n=3

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Austin Simmons

Only 2 rival mention(s) — below the 4-mention floor for a defensible read.

2025 Signature · 2025 season

ESPN QBR (season average)

45.7

QBR

P4 + Notre Dame QBs, min 2 games

National rank #81 of 92
Percentile vs P4 + Notre Dame QBs, min 2 games 12th

Why it matters

#81 of 92 P4 + Notre Dame QBs by ESPN QBR — 45.7 across 6 games.

Vs cohort

This player 45.7 (12th)

HIGH · n=6 cohort 92

  • Also strong
  • Third-down snap share#89 / 93

Signature Moment

No signature moment on the ledger yet.

Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Season Pace · Projection

Where the passing totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 6g
744Pass yards
4Pass TDs
5INT
Per game
124Pass yards
1Pass TDs
1INT
Projected (13g)
1,612Pass yards
9Pass TDs
11INT

To hit 3,000-yard season (currently 744): needs 322.3/game over remaining 7.

To hit 4,000-yard season (currently 744): needs 465.1/game over remaining 7.

To hit 25 passing TDs (currently 4): needs 3/game over remaining 7.

To hit 30 passing TDs (currently 4): needs 3.7/game over remaining 7.

To hit 35 passing TDs (currently 4): needs 4.4/game over remaining 7.

What made this player interesting

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Austin Simmons's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Ole Miss, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.

Current place #462 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 20.8% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 292 recruit

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

QB season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Pass yards 744 4 TD | 5 INT | #154/382 (60th pct)
Completion rate 60.0% 45/75 completions | #208/383 (46th pct)
Yards/attempt 9.9 Explosiveness through the air | #33/382 (92nd pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Vertical threat against FBS QB peers. The quickest read is whether the profile wins on volume, efficiency, explosiveness, or rushing value.

Vertical threat

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Passing Efficiency

CMP
45 54th
ATT
75 55th
CMP%
60.0% 46th
Y/A
9.9 92nd

Passing Production

YDS
744 60th
TD
4 61st
INT
5 32nd

Rushing

CAR
22 52nd
YDS
71 59th
YPC
3.2 57th
TD
1 63rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 6 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppCMP/ATTYDSTDINTYPAQBRNote
Wk 1W 63-7vs Georgia State20/313413211.057.4Season-high 341 yds
Wk 2W 30-23@ Kentucky13/24235029.880.3
Wk 3W 41-35vs Arkansas1/14104.0100.0
Wk 9W 34-26@ Oklahoma0/20000.01.0
Wk 11W 49-0vs The Citadel7/12100018.314.5
BowlW 41-10vs Tulane4/5640012.820.9
Total45/75744457.745.7
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2025Ole Miss13-2HC: Lane Kiffin · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Ole Miss457560.0%7449.945147.6----
Career1 loaded season457560.0%7449.945147.6----
SeasonTeam
2025Ole Miss22713.21--
Career1 loaded season22713.21--
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Passing WEPA

Opponent-adjusted passing value. Positive numbers mean the quarterback is adding more value through the air than a neutral peer would in the same environment.

Role share

How much of the offense runs through the quarterback once passing and rushing responsibility are blended together.

Peer percentile

Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.

Traditional first

The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.

Rush impact 71 1 rush TD | #168/408 (59th pct)
Usage 20.8% 34.7% pass share | 7.8% rush share | #212/428 (51st pct)
Passing WEPA +0.44 Opponent-adjusted passing value | #14/200 (94th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Passing Passing yards 744 #154/382 60th pct Volumevs FBS QB
Passing Pass TD 4 #159/407 61st pct Scoringvs FBS QB
Passing Completions 45 #176/383 54th pct Volumevs FBS QB
Passing Completion % 60.0% #208/383 46th pct Efficiencyvs FBS QB
Passing Yards / attempt 9.9 #33/382 92nd pct Efficiencyvs FBS QB
Rushing Rushing yards 71 #168/408 59th pct Volumevs FBS QB
Value Passing WEPA +0.44 #14/200 94th pct Opponent-adjusted passing value | 67 weighted playsvs FBS QB
Usage Role share 20.8% #212/428 51st pct Share of team offensevs FBS QB
Passing Attempts 75 #186/407 55th pct Volumevs FBS QB
Passing Interceptions 5 #276/407 32nd pct Turnoversvs FBS QB
Rushing Carries 22 #198/408 52nd pct Volumevs FBS QB
Rushing Rushing LONG 14 #232/391 41st pct Metricvs FBS QB
Rushing Yards / carry 3.2 #178/407 57th pct Efficiencyvs FBS QB
Rushing Rush TD 1 #151/408 63rd pct Scoringvs FBS QB
Usage Pass share 34.7% #210/428 51st pct Air-game usagevs FBS QB
Usage 3rd-down usage 26.6% #217/428 50th pct Money-down loadvs FBS QB
Usage Passing-down usage 25.0% #221/428 49th pct Known-passing sharevs FBS QB
Usage 1st-down usage 20.6% #198/428 54th pct Early-down loadvs FBS QB
Usage Standard-down usage 19.4% #205/428 52nd pct Base-situation sharevs FBS QB
Usage 2nd-down usage 17.3% #221/428 49th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS QB
Usage Rush share 7.8% #205/428 52nd pct Ground-game usagevs FBS QB
Ball Security Fumbles lost 1 #69/258 74th pct Turnoversvs FBS QB

Player Standing

Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION

On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16

Why he’s here

Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.

What moves him up

What moves him down

Accolade streams

StatusAwaiting tracker

Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 6 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

YDS/gTD/gYPAINT/g
Home4g1271.09.00.8
Road2g1180.04.91.0

Win vs Loss

YDS/gTD/gYPAINT/g
Wins6g1240.77.70.8

First half vs Second half

YDS/gTD/gYPAINT/g
Weeks 1-74g1611.09.41.0
Weeks 8+2g50.00.04.20.5

Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

46Mid-pack
8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: yards / att (99th). Concern: pass tds (12th).

Yards / att#2 / 183 · 99th pct
9.9pass
Interceptions#53 / 183 · 67th pct
5pass
Fumbles lost#32 / 174 · 66th pct
1fumb
Rush yards#117 / 183 · 37th pct
71rush
Completion %#120 / 183 · 34th pct
60.0%pass
Rush TDs#123 / 183 · 26th pct
1rush
Pass yards#154 / 183 · 16th pct
744pass
Pass TDs#154 / 183 · 13th pct
4pass

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Pass Profile · Completion depth (PBP)

Where the throws are landing

34/58 (58.6%) · 4 TD · 4 INT

Short

0–9 yds
44%of completions
15 comp6.9 yds avg2 TD

Middle

10–19 yds
21%of completions
7 comp12.7 yds avg

Deep

20+ yds
35%of completions
12 comp32.3 yds avg2 TD

Overall 58.6% completion on 58 attempts · 12 deep completions averaging 32.3 yds.

Advanced Savant · QB · 2024

Percentile Card

Elite: EPA / dropback.

P4G5All FBS
EPA / dropback0.440
88th pct
CPOE
awaiting
Success rate
awaiting
Explosive rate (20+)
awaiting
aDOT
awaiting
Deep-ball accuracy
awaiting
Pressure-to-sack
awaiting
3rd-down EPA
awaiting
Red-zone TD rate
awaiting
Play-action EPA
awaiting
Scramble EPA
awaiting
Turnover-worthy play rate
awaiting

Advanced Savant

Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.

wepa_passing0.44High (p75–p90) (n=94)

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 8 metrics
Austin SimmonsOle MissCade KlubnikClemson· 64% simRocco BechtIowa State· 62% simAthan KaliakmanisRutgers· 61% sim
Yards / att
99
Simmons
63
Klubnik
68
Becht
88
Kaliakmanis
Interceptions
67
Simmons
56
Klubnik
22
Becht
44
Kaliakmanis
Fumbles lost
66
Simmons
66
Klubnik
66
Becht
38
Kaliakmanis
Rush yards
37
Simmons
42
Klubnik
46
Becht
12
Kaliakmanis
Completion %
34
Simmons
73
Klubnik
38
Becht
49
Kaliakmanis
Rush TDs
26
Simmons
59
Klubnik
81
Becht
59
Kaliakmanis
Pass yards
16
Simmons
78
Klubnik
69
Becht
84
Kaliakmanis
Pass TDs
13
Simmons
64
Klubnik
64
Becht
77
Kaliakmanis

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

DNA Match awaiting data — similarity scores compute once season stats clear the volume gate for this position cohort.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Lane Kiffin

Pass share

48.2%

521 pass / 560 run

Plays / game

72.1

15 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

4.5%

330 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2025

1 coach
2025
Lane Kiffin
Ole Miss

Played his entire career under Lane Kiffin.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.

HometownMoore Haven, FL
Height6'4"
Weight215 lb
Class2
PositionQB
Jersey13

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

Honors

No formal honors on the ledger yet

All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.

Honors Timeline

Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.

Season Honor Scope Team / Selector Context
No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned.

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 Ole Miss QB2 #462 #328 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Ole Miss QB2 #887 #591 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Ole Miss SEC QB 2 No. 13 | 6-4 | 215 lb | Moore Haven, FL
2024 Ole Miss SEC QB 2 No. 13 | 6-4 | 215 lb | Moore Haven, FL
2023 Ole Miss SEC QB 2 No. 13 | 6-4 | 215 lb | Moore Haven, FL