Lane Kiffin discusses how Spencer Sanders, Walker Howard have pushed Jaxson Dart

The Ole Miss quarterback room is even more crowded in 2023. After deciding between Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer in 2022, the Rebels have since added Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard to further complicate their process of picking a QB1.

With that said, Lane Kiffin believes it’ll be the best thing for Dart as it will provide him with competition and, therefore, motivation. When he addressed that dynamic, he said both new quarterbacks are picking up the system in Oxford well so far. He fully expects that both will provide Dart with a challenge by the time they wrap up the spring or open things up in the fall.

“I think they’re doing a really good job,” Kiffin said on Tuesday. “Both are learning new systems that are very different from the systems that they were in. And then Spencer has been limited from a physical standpoint.”

“I think any time you have new guys like that? They’ll usually be behind. And then you’ll see a jump late in the spring or in early fall camp,” said Kiffin.

Let’s start with Dart. After transferring in from USC, he threw for just under 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns on a 62.4% completion percentage. As a sophomore, he did go through some growing pains over the course of the season. Overall, though, Dart helped bring a lot of success to Ole Miss considering they won eight of their first nine games.

What’s interesting about the new competition is that the Rebels brought in a quarterback that’s far more experienced as well as one that’s less so yet still has a ton of potential.

When it comes to Sanders, we’re talking about a quarterback with four years of starting experience at Oklahoma State. In that time, he has accumulated over 9,500 yards and 67 touchdowns through the air. He also produced an additional 1,956 yards and 18 scores on the ground as well. He saw a lot of miles in the Big 12 and, during those years, put a lot on his resume.

Then, when it comes to Howard, he arrives with only a handful of college reps on his body. He threw just four passes as a freshman at LSU with appearances in only two of their games. Still, he was ranked as a four-star prospect, a Top-50 player overall, and a Top-10 QB in the 2022 class per the On3 Industry Rankings for a reason. If given the time, Howard still has a lot of time to prove he can excel.

All eyes are now on Dart to maintain his status as the starter. Will he? No one knows and there’s a lot of time left to still determine that outcome. However, a pair of old phrases say ‘iron sharpens iron’ and ‘pressure makes diamonds’. He’s going to give it a go to keep his spot but, at the very least, Dart will likely become a better player with a proven commodity like Sanders and a young talent like Howard nipping at his heels.