Ole Miss football has rolled out some number changes in advance of the Rebels’ season-opening showdown with Georgia State.
Ole Miss football has rolled out some number changes in advance of the Rebels’ season-opening showdown with Georgia State.
The Rebels and Panthers square off on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network. There are storylines aplenty, including Austin Simmons making his debut as the new starting quarterback in place of departed record-setter Jaxson Dart.
Ole Miss wrapped a month of fall camp practices on Saturday.
“I’d definitely say I grew to be a better overall leader on and off the field,” Simmons said. “Just doing those minor corrections on the field when we hit adversity. I definitely see a lot of progression over time. Definitely managing the offense, driving down the field. Dealing with certain plays that would hold up the tempo. But, it’s been good overall.”
“I think Austin’s done a really good job,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said on Monday. “He had a really good Saturday night and performing really well. We’re going to continue to emphasize, one of the things why we’ve had a really good record and performed really well is not just the offensive stats and all the most passing yards and all that. It’s been taking care of the football at that position and doing a really good job of that.”
Simmons is still sporting his No. 13, but some of his teammates have switched up their jerseys prior to kickoff.
Veteran running back Domonique Thomas dropped No. 26 for No. 0, which was worn last season by fellow running back Matt Jones. Jones is now at Southern Miss.
Transfer defensive backs Jaylon Braxton and Antonio Kite have taken No. 2 and No. 8, respectively, after a spring and preseason in No. 11 and 33. Backup quarterback AJ Maddox has been No. 15 in his first two seasons as a Rebel but has swapped numbers with reserve wide receiver Izaiah Hartrup, who previously wore 14.
Oklahoma State transfer quarterback Maealiuaki Smith is No. 16, trading with freshman wide receiver Winston Watkins, who’s taken Smith’s No. 17.
Watkins signed as a 4-star recruit in the 2025 class.
“This kid’s got full-on juice,” On3 recruiting analyst Cody Bellaire said of Watkins in a previous interview with Rebel Grove. “He gets off the line of scrimmage with absolute vigor — like he’s flying off the line of scrimmage. He has really good hands, too. He’s got 10-and-a-half-inch hands, which only help pluck the ball away from his frame. He has such a defined role in college. I don’t know how high the ceiling is, but I think I have a good idea what his floor is. That’s extremely high.”
Australian punter Oscar Bird and freshman running back Shekai Mills-Knight will share No. 33.
Bird is a 23-year-old freshman and had been in No. 44, which now belongs to Grambling transfer linebacker Andrew Jones and Bird’s long-snapper, veteran Carter Short. Knight initially took No. 24.
Safety Kegan Sherwood is No. 49, while kicker Mike Baker is No. 89.
“I think he’s got tremendous upside,” Kiffin said of Mills-Knight, a 4-star signee like Watkins. “Big, physical running back, which we missed this year not having. As you re-look at the year, that was a big difference. A lot of critical situations where big guys fall forward and make some extra yards. We had to go to a defensive tackle (JJ Pegues) in those situations.
“We have high hopes for him.”
Category: General Sports
