Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons sends a 3-word birthday wish to ex-teammate and Giants rookie Jaxson Dart

Austin Simmons is expected to be Ole Miss' next starting quarterback. After playing as a backup in 2024, he will succeed New York Giants’ Jaxson Dart, who was the Rebels' QB1 over the past seasons.

Simmons sent his best wishes to his predecessor on Tuesday as he celebrated his birthday. Dart, who is participating in the Giants' rookie camp after being drafted at No. 25, marked his 22nd birthday.

Simmons shared a pregame picture of himself and Dart while sending his wishes with a three-word caption along with a cake emoji.

“🎂 lil ahh boi,” Simmons wrote.

Instagram story (image credit: instagram/austinsimmons)

After playing alongside Simmons in Oxford for two seasons, Dart knows what his former backup is capable of. He gave a good review of Simmons during the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

"He's an elite talent," Dart said in March, via SI. "I haven't really seen anybody like him who can spin the ball with his arm talent. I'm really excited for him. He's going to take a huge step leadership-wise this year, and I'm really excited for the team to grow, and I think they're just going to pick up where we left off."

Lane Kiffin outlines what he wants Austin Simmons to learn from Jaxson Dart

The resurgence of Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin was led by Jaxson Dart. The quarterback made significant contributions to the program on and off the field during his tenure. After the Gator Bowl in January, Kiffin noted what he wants Austin Simmons to learn from Dart.

“I look at the family in the quarterback room, and when you say that about Austin, he’s had this big brother, show him everything to do and how to do every single thing right,” Kiffin said.

"Except for making his own plays up at the end. But that’s so valuable. It’s one thing to learn about how a guy works, but how he prepares, how he works, how he treats people, how he wins his team over. So, Austin — that’s a really awesome thing that Austin got to experience.”

Kiffin and his team failed to make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff last season despite being projected to reach it during the offseason. Simmons now holds the responsibility of leading the Rebels back to the CFP in 2025.