OXFORD — The guessing game appears to be over: sophomore Jaxson Dart is Ole Miss’ starting quarterback.
Following the Rebels’ 35-27 win over Tulsa, head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about sophomore Luke Altmyer, who did not appear in the game at all after taking snaps in the first three games. For the first four depth charts of the season, Dart and Altmyer were listed as “or” as the starter. It is now officially Dart’s team, as Kiffin officially said Altmyer is the team’s No. 2.
Dart started the opener against Troy and the third game at Georgia Tech, and Altmyer started against Central Arkansas in the second game. Both played in each of the first three games as the quarterback competition continued on from the spring and fall, though Altmyer threw just four passes combined against Troy and Georgia Tech.
“We have a plan right now with Luke,” Kiffin said. “We’ve sat down with him and his family and have a plan for him. He’s our backup quarterback, so we’re on the same page.”
Dart — who transferred from USC in the winter — was asked about no longer being in a quarterback derby and said it didn’t really change much from his perspective.
“It’s grown me a lot as quarterback … It’s grown me a ton as a person, just trying to persevere through the good and the bad, and just being resilient,” Dart said. “Luke’s such a good quarterback, and he has so many talents that I’ve learned from, just competing with him each and every day.
“I still view it as it’s still going on, and I have to hold myself to an even higher standard to do that all I can to help the team.”
Defense struggles against backup quarterback
It turns out a backup quarterback might have been the last thing the Rebels wanted to see.
Following an injury to Tulsa starter Davis Brin, Braylon Braxton entered the game and added a very different dimension as a dual-threat quarterback. Braxton rushed for 39 yards on four carries, but beyond that, was extremely difficult to tackle. Saturday marked just the second time in 27 games under Kiffin that Ole Miss failed to record a sack.
Tulsa ran for 262 yards; the Golden Hurricane entered the game averaging just 110.7 rushing yards per game.
“Definitely (changed things),” sophomore defensive back Ladarius Tennison said. “Because No. 1 (Braxton) is a running quarterback. We were planning on playing more depth in the pass, so we had to tighten it up for the run. So, it was just kind of a big change for us.”
Key number: 457
The number of yards Ole Miss surrendered against Tulsa, 111 yards more than the Rebels had given up in any of the first three games of the season.
Next game
The Rebels host No. 8 Kentucky at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.
Quotable
“I’ve known it from the get-go with Q, from the first time that I met him. I tell people that he reminds me so much of like, (Cleveland Browns star) Nick Chubb or (New York Giants star) Saquon Barkley … He can have such a huge impact on a team and do so many great things. And crap, he should still be in high school. His future is so bright, and I know that he’s going to do everything that he can do to fulfill his dreams, because he comes to work every single day with the right mentality to do everything in his power to get better and to do better and do whatever he can to help the team. So, I’ve been super impressed with him.” — Jaxson Dart, on freshman running back Quinshon Judkins.
Rebel ramblings
Ole Miss has won 12 straight home games, the last loss coming in 2020 against Auburn … It is Ole Miss’ first win over Tulsa in four tries … The Rebels have scored on their opening drive the last three games … Tennison had a career-high 12 tackles … Ole Miss averages better than 188 yards rushing in the first half.
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