Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
19-year-old Quarterback Austin Simmons Graduates From College Before Starting For Ole Miss
Before Austin Simmons takes over for 2025 first-round NFL draft pick Jaxson Dart as Ole Miss' starting quarterback this fall, he will have already graduated from the university.
The 19-year-old graduated from high school with a 5.34 GPA at 16, allowing him to enroll at Ole Miss two years earlier than expected. Now, the former four-star quarterback in the 2023 class will have earned a college degree before starting his first game, before turning 20 years old.
"It's a weird feeling," Simmons said of the accomplishment. "Everyone's older than you, and you're looked upon, like, he's just a baby on campus. I'm here, I'm young and I'm just gonna make the most of it."
Not only is Simmons extremely smart and a talented quarterback, but he is a really good pitcher as well. While redshirting as a football player in 2023, the left-hander made 13 relief appearances in the spring of 2024, finishing with a 2-0 record and a 3.21 ERA - a season he should have been playing high school baseball as a junior.
"He's a better baseball player than a football player," his father said. "A lot of people have no idea. He could be (Shohei) Ohtani. If he didn't play football, he would be Ohtani."
NCAA Could Remove Ban on Pro Sports Betting
In a day and age where betting is discussed in every capacity of college and professional sports, it seems as though college athletes might be able to start betting on professional sports sooner rather than later. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reported on Friday that the NCAA is considering removing the ban and soon allowing college athletes to bet on pro sports.
Part of the reason for that: Sports betting is everywhere in sports, whether it's arenas, stadiums, TV commercials, or something else. Not only is it due to that, but as it stands, the NCAA has far more important things to worry about than whether college athletes are betting on professional sports.
“At a macro level, the biggest risk to college sports is point shaving and prop bets and the integrity of its competitions being called into question,” Banker says. “It’s not whether a college athlete or coach bets on the Super Bowl or WNBA Finals. Is it risky to gamble on an individual level? Of course. Is pro sports gambling by a college athlete or coach the biggest threat to college athletics? It’s not.”
Prohibitions against gambling on college sports would remain in place, according to Forde.
Utah Quarterback Cam Rising Retires From Football
A lot has changed in college sports since 2018, but one thing has remained the same over the last seven years: Cam Rising has been a quarterback in college football.
That era ended last Wednesday, as the Utah quarterback announced he is retiring from football.
Bad Moon Out. pic.twitter.com/hfn5n5WtKB
— Cameron Rising (@crising7) May 7, 2025
Rising redshirted in his first collegiate season at Texas in 2018 before transferring to Utah. After sitting out for one season due to NCAA transfer rules back then, he suffered a hand injury in 2020, an ACL injury in 2023 and then a major hand injury in 2024. That latest injury, paired with re-injuring his knee in 2024, caused him to miss the 2025 season.
In Rising's only two full seasons of college football throughout his seven-year career, he led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022 while earning all-conference honors in both seasons.
The 25-year-old will now be the offensive coordinator at Newbury Park High School in California, his alma mater, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman.
ICYMI
Transfer Portal Recap: Ohio State Adds Several Impact Players, Loses Only Backups in 2024-25 Offseason Transfer Movement
We take a position-by-position look at who Ohio State added and lost in the transfer portal this offseason, as it added several impact players without losing any projected starters.
Ohio State Basketball Coach Jake Diebler Delivers Message to Buckeye Fans: "This Year, Our Focus is Taking a Big Jump"
Jake Diebler packed tons of information into a brief update video on Tuesday, from the transfer portal to his thoughts on last season to ways to improve the Schottenstein Center's environment.
Gameday Atmosphere A Point of Emphasis for Ross Bjork Entering Second Year As Ohio State’s Athletic Director
Improving the environment at the Shoe and the Schott is a big point of emphasis for Ross Bjork entering his second year as Ohio State’s athletic director.
What's Next
- 111 Days: Ohio State’s season opener vs. Texas
- 174 Days: Jim Knowles returns to Columbus for Penn State vs. Ohio State
- 202 Days: The Game
