In a matter of minutes, Ole Miss and Kentucky both lost their starting quarterbacks in the second half of their SEC matchup. Ole Miss lost Austin Simmons to an apparent leg injury, and Kentucky signal caller Zach Calzada left after injuring his shoulder on a throw.
Just over halfway into the third quarter, Simmons exited the game with an apparent leg injury after getting his knee pinned underneath him on an awkward tackle. Simmons was slow to get to his feet and couldn’t put any weight on his left leg as trainers helped him into the injury tent.
Rebels backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss took over for Ole Miss on the next possession. Chambliss, a transfer from Ferris State, attempted just six passes on Ole Miss’ season-opening win over Georgia State. Simmons was 13 of 24 for 235 yards and two interceptions when he left the game. He also rushed eight times for 44 yards and a score.
In his postgame press conference, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Simmons would have been fine to go back in the game if needed. With Ole Miss up by seven points and driving late in the fourth quarter, Kiffin said he wanted to keep the speed Chambliss in to run down the clock.
“Austin was OK to go back in,” Kiffin said. “… He was ready to go. We just had a plan there. We want to go with Trinidad with Austin not being full speed. So he was good.”
Just minutes after Simmons’ injury, Kentucky took the field for its next possession, and redshirt freshman Cutter Boley had replaced Calzada, who was seen getting his shoulder tended to on the sideline. On his last throw of Kentucky’s previous possession, Calzada seemed to tweak something in his shoulder. He stood on the sideline with his helmet off as Boley led the Wildcats’ next drive.
Calzada went 15 of 30 for 149 yards before being forced out of action.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Kentucky coach Bob Stoops noted that Calzada was pretty “banged up” on the play. Stoops added that he anticipates Calzada, a seventh-year senior, missing at least a couple days of practice. That will give Boley a chance to showcase what he can do.
“He’s banged up. I don’t know to what extent. I would think he would more than likely miss Monday or Tuesday, I would think. I want to see Cutter.”
It sounds like Simmons should be good to go as Ole Miss continues SEC play by hosting Arkansas next weekend. The Kentucky quarterback situation may be more in flux as the Wildcats get set to host Eastern Michigan.
Read the full article here