Lane Kiffin addresses recent play from Ole Miss quarterbacks

With the season set to kick off in less than two weeks, Ole Miss quarterbacks Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard are still fighting it out for the starting job. The Rebels held their second scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, giving those players a chance to make their case.

Coach Lane Kiffin addressed their performance in a press conference Tuesday, saying he the group looked “really, really strong” overall. However, he did not single any player out by name and gave no indication of whether he is leaning any one direction heading into the season opener.

“I thought quarterback play was really, really strong Saturday,” Kiffin said. “I thought the week before, the defense in general had a really good Saturday. I thought this Saturday the offense did in both the passing and running game. A bunch more points, much more yards, higher average per carry. So I thought the quarterbacks did some really good things.

“The two older guys made a significant play they’d wanna take back but I saw some really good things and I think we’re in a great position of multiple guys that could go in the game and help us win.”

Of the three quarterbacks, Dart is the only one with prior experience in the Ole Miss system. He started 12 of 13 games for the Rebels in 2022 to finish with a respectable 2,974 yards passing, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. However, he’s been pushed this offseason by the two transfers.

Sanders comes to Oxford as a sixth-year player who spent his first five seasons at Oklahoma State. He started in 41 games for the Cowboys from 2019-22, leading them to a 32-9 record while throwing for 9,553 yards, 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. He also proved a threat on the ground with 1,956 yards rushing and 18 scores.

Howard has the least experience of the three as he played behind Jayden Daniels as a true freshman at LSU this past season. He ranked as the No. 45 overall prospect in the 2022 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Kiffin hinted last week that Dart and Sanders are the two frontrunners in the competition due to their experience.

“Both guys do a lot of really good things,” the coach said. “Both guys have played a lot. Go back to ‘SC at the end, this is Jaxson’s third year of starting. Spencer’s probably started as many as anybody in the country. So it’s challenging but it’s an awesome obstacle to have, to have that battle like that.”

It seems right now the Rebels are willing to wait it out to name a starter. But whoever wins the job, it wouldn’t be surprising to see multiple quarterbacks play a factor in the opening week.

Ole Miss kicks off the 2023 season at 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 2 against Mercer.