The Ole Miss Rebels may have their spot in the CFP semifinals locked in. But regardless of how the season ends, Pete Golding and the Rebels are staring at a mountain of problems heading their way. Word on the street is that Ole Miss could be without a clear quarterback option for the 2026 season once their playoff run is over.

On January 3rd, Ole Miss insider Ben Garrett hopped onto X and revealed interim head coach Pete Golding’s biggest fear: “Simmons headed to portal as Chambliss waiver looms over Ole Miss QB future.”According to Garrett, Pete Golding did not like that even one bit for obvious reasons: “[Simmons] couldn’t have been more professional about the whole situation.. Obviously [the waiver] affects a lot of decisions, who you’ve got to go get.”

The only thing standing between the Ole Miss Rebels and a good 2026 season is the NCAA waiver decision for their current starting quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss. He’s looking to be granted an extra (sixth) year of eligibility.

The former Ferris State baller’s trying to get a rare sixth year of eligibility to play college football. See, he played four years in Division II, and the rules from back then mean his time is usually up. But Ole Miss is asking the NCAA for a special pass because he missed basically all of the 2022 season with a bad chest illness, hoping that year won’t count against him.

The outcome of that one piece of paper from the NCAA changes everything for the Rebels. Should the waiver get approved, it’ll be good news for them. The Ole Miss Rebels are probably looking at another double-digit win season in 2026.

However, if it’s denied outright (more likely), the Ole Miss Rebels are probably looking at a down year or two. That’s precisely why Austin Simmons isn’t taking any risks and has entered the transfer portal. The former two-star understands the situation very well: if Chambliss gets his extra year, there is no way Simmons is staying on the patch as QB1.

If you look at this from a broader perspective, rather than just from the Ole Miss Rebels or even Pete Golding’s lens, Simmons’ decision makes even more sense. He was literally the starter before the injury crisis hit, and he even finished his degree at 18 so he could focus fully on football. The last thing Simmons wants to do is sit on the bench for another year.

Simmons just wants a chance to be the starting QB somewhere, and the current Ole Miss situation makes that a risky bet for him. So, the whole coaching staff is basically juggling two completely different plans right now.

Until the NCAA makes its final decision on Trinidad Chambliss’s waiver request, the team has to keep recruiting other quarterbacks in the portal just to be on the safe side of things.

Austin Simmons’ potential destination

According to Yahoo’s Mark Schlabach, Austin Simmons’ next obvious destination will be the University of Missouri (Mizzou). He has put his name in the transfer portal with a “no-contact” tag, which pretty much means he already knows where he’s going and doesn’t want other schools calling him up.

The plan is for him to finish out the playoffs with Ole Miss first, and then officially join Mizzou as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility left. The quarterback situation at Mizzou in the 2025 season was a bit of a carousel. They brought in Beau Pribula from Penn State as the likely starter after Brady Cook left for the NFL.

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Truth be told, Pribula was actually balling for Mizzou until his serious season-ending ankle injury hit in October. Redshirt freshman Matt Zollers and multi-sport athlete Sam Horn were also in the mix, but injuries and Horn’s potential baseball career made things tricky.

Now, Austin Simmons is coming in, which adds more competition for Missouri. Pribula is also expected to transfer after the season. Simmons might be only seeing Matt Zollers as his true competition if Simmons finds himself in Columbia.