Ole Miss Football Spring Position Preview: The Quarterback Room
The Grove Report is breaking down each position group on the Ole Miss football team leading up to spring drills for the Rebels, and this series begins with a look at the quarterback room.
The Rebels will likely turn to one of two options to lead their offense this fall, either USC transfer Jaxson Dart or incumbent backup Luke Altmyer. Altmyer saw limited action in the 2021 season in relief of Matt Corral, but his first significant playing time came on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl where he threw for 174 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Dart, on the other hand, started multiple games for USC last season in place of the injured Kedon Slovis, throwing for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
There is also the unknown of Charlie Weis Jr.'s impact on the offense as the Rebels' new offensive coordinator. Which quarterback will fit his scheme best? Here’s what both quarterbacks will bring to the table in spring ball.
The Incumbent: Luke Altmyer
Altmyer was brought in from Starkville High School (Miss.) with hopes that he would take over the reins of the offense once Matt Corral inevitably departed for the NFL. Now, that future is uncertain with the arrival of Jaxson Dart in Oxford, but that doesn't mean that Altmyer's talent won't speak for itself in this competition.
It took a while for Altmyer to find his groove in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor, and he certainly showed signs of growing pains for a freshman quarterback, but he did make some impressive plays against the Bears' defense.
His talent was also on display in high school with a much larger sample size. In Mississippi's highest classification (6A), Altmyer threw for 5,523 yards, 63 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions over three seasons for his hometown Yellowjackets.
College football is obviously a different game, but Altmyer is talented, and he's shown flashes of that while at Ole Miss. He can read defenses and has a lot of arm potential. He's just a rising-sophomore, so growing pains are inevitable, but don't count him out of this quarterback competition this spring.
The Newcomer: Jaxson Dart
Once Jaxson Dart committed to Ole Miss, most believed it was a foregone conclusion that he would be the Rebels' starting signal caller, but he has to go through a competition with the aforementioned Altmyer before that is a reality.
Still, Dart is cut from a cloth that makes that competition welcome, and he's got the tools to win that battle.
In his senior year of high school at Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon, Dart led the nation in passing. Here's what was said during his prep days by SI All-American:
Utah was one of the first states to welcome back high school football and Dart jumped right into the national conversation with scholarship offer-inducing gaudy performances that would lead to an undefeated state title run. Few improved their stock in 2020 as the USC Trojan signee, who led the country in passing with 4,691 yards and 67 touchdowns, against just four interceptions, completing nearly 70% of his attempts along the way. Dart added 1,195 yards and a dozen more scores as a runner to set the Utah state single-season touchdown record.
Multi-dimensional quarterback with solid arm talent? Sounds familiar, right?
Altmyer is also a mobile quarterback, but Dart's skillset through both the air and the ground can make him a vital asset in Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr.'s offense this season should he win the job.
The Supporting Cast
Other quarterbacks on the Ole Miss roster as of this writing include:
No. 12 Kinkead Dent
No. 21 Alex Grado
© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
© John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
@JaxsonDart
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