Ole Miss Football Preview: The best quarterback battle in the country

Something seems to be brewing in Oxford, Mississippi with Ole Miss Football.

Lane Kiffin might just have the hottest quarterback battle on his hands and there isn’t much more time to make a decision.

With the departure of former starting quarterback Matt Corral to the NFL back in April, it became clear that the Rebels were in search for someone to take over the reigns of head signal caller.

Now enter Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart who have been battling it out since spring.

They are two rising sophomores who could not be more different.

Here’s the summary:

Altmyer was a four star prospect from Mississippi who was a two-time all-state selection.

He enrolled early at Ole Miss in the spring and became the backup quarterback to Corral.

Last year, Altmyer came in to relieve an injured Corral in the 2021 Sugar Bowl. He wasn’t perfect but showed some flashes of what life could be like in the post-Corral era.

He threw for 174 yards and a touchdown while completing 15 of 28 passes. He also threw 2 interceptions and Ole Miss ended up losing to Baylor 21-7.

After the game many questioned who would be the Rebels quarterback in 2022.

It was not how Altymer would have liked to begin his starting campaign but through this process he’s gotten time to reflect on that performance.

Dart is from Draper, Utah and was a highly touted quarterback coming out of high school.

Rated as a four star prospect, he threw for 117 touchdowns and 10,688 yards during his high school career.

In 2020 he won Gatorade Player of the Year, MaxPreps Football Player of the Year, and was named to the MaxPreps All American Team, as well as First Team Sports Illustrated All American.

When he arrived to USC, Dart competed to backup Kedon Slovis and because of a strong spring game performance, he entered the 2021-22 season as the backup quarterback.

During the regular season, he came in against Washington State for an injured Slovis and threw 4 touchdowns and nearly 400 yards.

Unfortunately, Dart injured his knee in the following week during his first start which caused him to miss the next four starts.

When he came back, he won the job back, and kept it for the final five games of the season.

Due to the turmoil of firing head coach Clay Helton, Dart compiled a 2-4 record.

After Lincoln Riley was named the next head coach at USC, Dart entered the transfer portal and decided to play for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Fast forward to spring practice. Both players competed fiercely for the job but neither walked away with it.

The Ole Miss Football quarterback battle may be the best in the country

The Ole Miss spring game, also known as the Grove Bowl, was a great chance to look at both guys.

The game pitted the two quarterbacks against each other. The red team was led by Altmyer and the navy team was led by Dart.

Altmyer won the day by throwing for 182 yards and rushing for 2 scores. The red team got out to a big 23 point lead in the second quarter before the navy squad could muster up any points.

Dart eventually settled down after a couple first half interceptions and played well to finish the game, but it was ultimately too little too late as the red team won 48-36.

Moving into Fall camp both guys are being given the opportunity to earn the starting job.

On August 14, Ole Miss had their first scrimmage, and this time Dart seemed to get the upper hand.

He threw for 2 touchdowns and 207 yards while completing 14 of 17 passes. Altmyer only threw for 126 yards on 13 of 20 passing and one interception.

When asked about where each quarterback stood, Kiffen said he wasn’t satisfied with the performances of either man.

The competition now continues midway through August with the Rebels’ first game coming on September 3 against Troy.

Altmyer won in the spring and Dart has taken control so far in the Fall.

It’s safe to expect both quarterbacks on the field at some point during the season, but who starts against Troy is anybody’s guess.