Lane Kiffin delivers his thoughts on Luke Altmyer, Jaxson Dart following Ole Miss spring game

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin already said after the spring game Saturday that he doesn’t expect to name a starting quarterback until the fall. But in that very same press conference, the Rebels coach offered a not-so-subtle clue as to who may have the advantage as of now in the battle between Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart.

“Jaxson made some mistakes early and Luke seemed to play really consistent and not force things,” Kiffin responded when asked about the play of his passers.

Altmeyer showed off his dual-threat ability, rushing for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also threw for 182 yards, but had a completion percentage of just 41%. Dart, on the other hand, struggled. The USC transfer completed just 11-of-30 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

After the game, Kiffin gave a brutally honest assessment of Dart’s performance in Ole Miss spring game Saturday night.

“Yeah, not a very good first half,” Kiffin said. “Thought he was trying to win the job instead of just playing quarterback and forcing balls and not being very consistent. So just talk to him before the half. You know, about calming down and taking one play at a time. And I thought he did some better things in the second half.”

As both Altmyer and Dart struggled with accuracy, it was redshirt junior Kinkhead Dent who stood out. The fourth-year quarterback finished a near perfect 11-of-12 passing for 140 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I thought Kinkhead did good,” Kiffin said. “I think both of his first two series were touchdown drives, one on each side. That was really good to see and I’m proud of him. That’s not easy when you’re sitting there and get thrown in on both teams. He did what we want our guys to do. They asked me before the game, ‘What do you want from your quarterbacks?’ I want them to operate the system really well and not try to play outside the system. He did a good job of that.”

Ole Miss was without several playmakers at receiver due to injuries, including Jonathan Mingo and Jalen Knox. That could have made things more difficult on both Dart and Altmyer, and resulted in their lackluster performances. USC tight end transfer Michael Trigg led all pass catchers with seven catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns.

Turnovers were an issue for both quarterbacks in their limited time this past season, so Lane Kiffin will do his best to fix that before the start of the season. Ole Miss is set to open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against the Troy Trojans.