Lane Kiffin addresses topic of co-starters at quarterback to start the season

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin hopes to name a starting quarterback by the season opener, but is still weighing his options with less than two weeks to go until kickoff. Asked on Monday about the possibility of naming Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer as “co-starters”, Kiffin made clear that is not his plan right now, but didn’t rule it out.

“Not yet,” he said. “We’ve still got a ways to go and we’ll cross that bridge if it happens.”

Dart and Altmyer have been in a battle all offseason that Kiffin described Monday as “very close.” The coach said though some might be eager for a starter to be named named, he chooses to view the ongoing competition as a positive thing for the team.

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“Again you can be frustrated,” Kiffin said. “Glass half-empty, glass half-full. Or you can say, ‘If there was a big difference, one of them probably wasn’t doing very well.’ I look at it as both are doing well and creating a hard situation, which is a good thing to have.”

A transfer from USC, Dart ranked as the No. 4 quarterback according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. He started three games for the Trojans this past season, finishing with 1,353 yards passing, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Altmyer played in five games as a backup to Matt Corral as a true freshman in 2021. When Corral injured his ankle in the Sugar Bowl, it was Altmyer who filled in, throwing for 174 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Whoever Lane Kiffin ultimately chooses as his starting quarterback will hope to pick up for an offense that led the SEC in yards per game this past season. The Rebels return receiver Jonathan Mingo, and also add transfer receiver Jaylon Robinson and running back Zach Evans. Now as they prepare to kick off the season on Sept. 3 against Troy, quarterback is the missing piece Kiffin is still trying to figure out.

“I know it sounds the same, they’re very close,” he said. “I feel like every day you can go out there and say one and the next day say the other. So this will be a tough call, which is a good thing.”.