Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer embracing spring battle to be Ole Miss' next quarterback
When Jaxson Dart stepped into the Ole Miss locker room it was not a shock to Luke Altmyer. In fact, Altmyer was well aware there would be another quarterback added and he would have to fight for the starting job.
That battle is taking place over this four-week span of spring practice, and possibly well into summer and fall camp. Both Dart and Altmyer are taking an iron-sharpens-iron approach.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Altmyer said. “Even before spring started with all 11 guys with a team setting (we’d been working together). So when we started (last week) it was like practice nine for us. With Dart, we’ve become really fast friends. He’s a great guy and obviously a great player, competitor. We help each other out whenever he’s in and likewise.”
Altmyer has been kept up to speed on the search for another quarterback throughout the entire process. When former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was still with the Rebels and courting Dillon Gabriel to Oxford, Altmyer was aware. That continued with Charlie Weis, Jr. took over.
There was never a shock factor for the sophomore quarterback, who knew another body needed to be added to the quarterback room due to depth issues with Matt Corral heading to the NFL early.
“I believe in myself, I really do,” Altmyer said. “I understand the nature of the business and everything like that, but I go to work everyday with the belief that I can lead us.
“(The coaches) always kept me in the loop. They met with me frequently when Weis got here. I obviously knew the guys who were in the portal and things like that. They always kept me in the loop of who was visiting.”
Eventually, it was Dart that head coach Lane Kiffin and Weis wanted and is who they got.
Shifting the focus to the field, the former Southern California quarterback comes to Oxford with plenty of fanfare but also only the same amount of sample size when it comes to game experience due to Dart suffering an injury during his freshman season last fall.
Just like Altmyer, Dart is very complimentary of his teammate who is vying for the same job he is. This is also very familiar territory for Dart who is experiencing his second quarterback competition in a matter of months.
“For me, I came in to USC in a similar position,” Dart said. “I committed with another kid who was in my class. So for me it’s kind of similar. I’m in the same position I was when I first went to SC. We obviously have the same goals in mind. I think it’s a competition, it brings the best out of both of us. It’s going to push us and help become better players.”
The pleasantries are nice, but ultimately there will be only one quarterback taking the field on Sept. 3. Kiffin has said this spring that making a decision sooner than later is ideal but has also not giving a timeline of when it might happen.
Through five spring practices, including one inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the competition has been “exciting,” according to the Rebels third-year head coach.
“I think they’re all doing good things,” Kiffin said of his quarterbacks. “We got to take care of the ball better. Especially when we push the ball downfield. This has been an exciting competition.”
Kiffin and his staff can get a better evaluation on Saturday when the Rebels are supposed to have more of a scrimmage format to its second open practice inside VHS.
