Quinshon Judkins opens up on Ole Miss' quarterback battle

Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins was honest about the Rebels’ quarterback battle going into the 2023 season.

Jaxson Dart is the incumbent starter while transfers Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Walker Howard (LSU) want to make their mark. Nothing’s decided yet in the loaded room.

But no matter what, Judkins will be excited for the winner.

“Yeah, each and every one of those guys have performed definitely better than expected, very well,” Judkins said. “You have Walker who is a great quarterback. Spencer, Jaxson … Each and every one of those guys, like I say, they’re good, know what they’re doing, learning from great people, coaches that’s around them. I’m excited.”

Judkins also described each of the quarterback’s attributes and what made them standout so far.

“Man, we have a great quarterback room,” Judkins said on SEC This Morning. “I’m really — I believe in each and every one of those guys. We’ve got Jaxson who can throw deep. We’ve got Spencer [Sanders] who can throw as well, but he has the legs to run.

“Then we’ve got Walker [Howard] who can do both as well and he’s just a young guy, so he’s learning from both of those guys. So, I’m very confident in every one of those quarterbacks in the room, and I know that they can do the job.”

Dart was solid last season and could very well be improved. However, he has to win the job first.

Last year, Dart had 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 62.4% completion percentage.

Sanders has the most experience after his time at Oklahoma State. The transfer to the Ole Miss quarterback room was intriguing at first.

But if he ends up winning the job, it’ll be worth it in critics’ eyes.

Over the course of four years at Oklahoma State, Sanders had 9,553 yards, 67 touchdowns, 40 interceptions and a 61% completion percentage.

Howard is the unproven one of the group but a heralded prospect when he originally went to LSU.

As a member of the Class of 2022, Howard was a four-star recruit out of Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 6 quarterback in the class and the No. 45 overall prospect in the class.