A Race For QB1? Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin Provides Update On Battle
For Lane Kiffin, deciding who will be the starting quarterback come Week 1 will be his top priority. That becomes a challenge when injuries hamper the offensive production.
Sophomores Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart are already a month into their spring battle to replace Matt Corral as Ole Miss' next quarterback. Both have struggled with consistency, especially in terms of turnovers, but neither are working with a loaded roster in terms of talented weapons.
Receivers Jonathan Mingo, Jordan Watkins and Jalen Knox all have missed time, including Saturday's scrimmage, due to injury. Former USC tight end Michael Trigg, Casey Kelly and others at the position have missed multiple practices as well.
"That's challenging, I don't care who you are," Kiffin said Tuesday. "In the NFL there are great quarterbacks but they're limited with playmakers or look at Matt's first half of the year compared to when there started to be some injuries in the middle part. It affects you, especially for young quarterbacks."
Dart's biggest blunder at USC was his turnover concerns. When interceptions would come, they came in pairs. That hasn't changed since his arrival in Oxford. In the team scrimmage on Saturday, the 6-3 gunslinger tossed a pair of picks.
Altmyer, who has upper hand when working with Kiffin's offense, continues to have trouble with the snap. In the first scrimmage, he had two lost fumbles. Last week, he had his third thanks to a botched handoff to running back Zach Evans.
Dart finished the scrimmage 5 of 16 with 54 yards and a touchdown. Altmyer fared better, going 10 of 21 for 150 yards, but didn't score a touchdown.
Kiffin is hoping for better production from both passers, but also is aware of the hardships that come when playing short-handed. Dart is still trying to build a rapport in a new offense. So far, Trigg has been his go-to target, and in large part, their familiarity has helped him adjust.
All that changes when the lights are on and Trigg is on the sideline.
"That affected production in the scrimmage," Kiffin said following Tuesday's practice. "Receivers, and especially tight ends, which we didn't have any, so that made it challenging, but we're just pushing through. I don't think most of *the injuries) are long term. They should be guys we get back."
With injuries piling up for the Rebels, Kiffin has been able to see his depth in the receiver room. He praised the development of both Bralon Brown and Brandon Buckhaulter, who currently are working with the first-team offense and have been the two of the more consistent targets.
Senior receiver Dannis Jackson also has continued to develop, but Kiffin hopes to see him take new leaps in the team's next scrimmage. Last season, Jackson finished with 12 catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rebels have two more weeks of spring football before finally taking the field the Grove Bowl on April 23 at 12 p.m. Perhaps by then, health no longer is a concern for Kiffin's offense in terms of figuring out who has taken the lead in the race for QB1.
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