Lane Kiffin assesses Ole Miss quarterback competition ahead of spring game

With former star quarterback Matt Corral now heading to the NFL, Ole Miss is tasked with selecting a new starting signal-caller ahead of the 2022 season. While the Rebels have spent the last month-and-a-half going through spring practices, Ole Miss’ quarterbacks have been putting in plenty of work – which has allowed head coach Lane Kiffin to get a better idea of who his starter will be this coming season.

Kiffin has made it clear on multiple occasions throughout the spring practice period that Ole Miss’ starting quarterback competition is between Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart. While Altmyer played backup to Corral in 2021 and threw for 192 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, Dart transferred in from USC – where he tallied 1,353 passing yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions a season ago.

As the two quarterbacks have been competing all throughout spring practice, they’ll have the chance to showcase their skills in front of Ole Miss fans on Saturday as the Rebels play their annual “Grove Bowl” spring game in Oxford. Ahead of the game, Kiffin met with the media Tuesday and assessed the quarterback competition between Altmyer and Dart.

“I think up and down,” Kiffin said. “I think both guys have done good things, made big plays. Seems like they’re both kind of never on. One will have a good day, the other will turn it over and then switch the other day.

“That’s a good competition. … Doing some new things on offense. But the guys – both guys – really not a ton of playing time. Jaxson’s had more but it wasn’t with us, so not a lot of carryover there.”

Ole Miss’ Grove Bowl is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET Saturday – and all eyes will be on Altmyer and Dart to see how they perform.