Florida Football: Austin Simmons will be waiting another year at Ole Miss

When Austin Simmons announced that has was going to commit to Florida football, it felt like a homerun pickup for Billy Napier and crew. We chronicled when he was offered that Simmons had a sky-high ceiling and was a player to watch over the years.

Then, the following saga was less fun as rumors he would reclassify to the class of 2023 wound up being true, just not with the Gators, as Simmons stunned Florida fans by flipping to Ole Miss.

But if the plan for Simmons reclassifying was so that he could get on a college field as soon as possible, that plan isn’t panning out.

Florida Football: The Sims

Simmons flipping to Ole Miss felt like a weird fit, considering the QB room for the Rebels is as deep as any in the country. In addition to starter Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss has Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and LSU transfer Walker Howard.

Dart has thrown for 2,579 yards and 16 touchdowns, along with 354 yards rushing.

If Simmons were hoping to enroll early, redshirt while learning the college game, and then take the field in 2024, that plan took a hit as Dart announced he would return for the 2024 season.

Now, while it is easy to point out that had Simmons followed through with his original commitment to Florida football there is a chance he would have been the starter to open the 2024 season, it also adds to the reality that Florida’s 2024 schedule will be loaded.

The Gators will host Ole Miss in The Swamp next season. Ranked 13th in the CFP rankings right now, Ole Miss is one of six top 20 opponents the Gators have on their 2024 schedule (Georgia, LSU, Texas, Tennessee, and FSU). Of the six non-ranked opponents, two will have a new coach (Mississippi State and Texas A&M), two are other in-state foes (Miami and UCF), and the Gators still have to contend with Kentucky.

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