Quarterback battle headlines Ole Miss' first fall scrimmage
Aug. 13—OXFORD — Ole Miss is three weeks out from taking the field on Sept. 3 against Troy at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. And, on Saturday, fans and media got their closest look yet at in-game scenarios.
The Rebels held a public scrimmage and, as the case has been the first two weeks of practice, all eyes were on the two men dueling to line up under center next month.
Sophomore Luke Altmyer and sophomore USC transfer Jaxson Dart alternated reps with the first-team offense Saturday and, as has also been a theme thus far in preseason camp, both had stellar moments and ones that showed their youth.
Earlier in the week, head coach Lane Kiffin said how important scrimmages were for the Rebels from a coaching perspective, and not just for the quarterbacks. Senior left guard Nick Broeker shared that sentiment.
"Scrimmages are a huge part of their evaluation process. And that's something we know as players, because it's the closest thing right now to a game we can get," Broeker said. "Practices are kind of scripted. In games we're moving the ball. If you're not in, you're on the sideline like it is in a game. ... I think that's why there's such a big importance and that's why it's such a high priority for us to play well."
Altmyer got the first crack with the starting offense, and was flanked by senior wide receivers Jonathan Mingo and Mississippi State transfer Malik Heath, sophomore wide receiver J.J. Henry, sophomore USC transfer tight end Michael Trigg, junior TCU transfer running back Zach Evans, and the expected offensive line of junior Jeremy James, Broeker, junior Caleb Warren, sophomore Eli Acker and senior Western Kentucky transfer Mason Brooks. The drive stalled after a failed fourth-down attempt.
Dart's first drive came with a mostly second-team offense, and he threw a three-yard touchdown pass. He threw another touchdown to junior running back Kentrel Bullock with an offense largely consisting of first-team players. As was expected, there was a lot of rotating of personnel throughout the scrimmage.
There were no official stats taken for the game, but Dart finished with two touchdown passes and had a 50-plus yard completion to senior Dannis Jackson and another deep ball to senior Qua Davis. Altmyer did not throw any touchdowns but was solid overall, though he threw an interception on the final play of the scrimmage. Junior Kinkead Dent threw two touchdown passes with a largely third-string offensive group.
Overall, head coach Lane Kiffin said he needed to watch the full film to get a true grasp on an evaluation of all facets of the scrimmage. He did offer his initial thoughts on the quarterbacks, however. He specifically praised the play of Dent.
"I thought the first two guys didn't play great and took too many sacks, even though we're not hitting them, that would have been sacks," Kiffin said. "I thought Kinkead played really well. We played a little game in the quarterback room, predicting the MVPs for the day and guessing. And, I would like to go on-record that I picked Kinkead Dent to be the MVP today. That may have had something to do with the playcalling down there, to get him some extra touchdown passes to win that bet. But, he did a good job. Made a lot of plays."
The offensive line saw a lot of different bodies with the first group, as Broeker didn't play many snaps. Senior Jalen Cunningham and redshirt freshman Jayden Williams saw time with the first offense as well. There was shuffling at receiver as well, as a handful of players saw time with the first grouping.
The running back room looked as advertised. Junior TCU transfer Zach Evans, junior SMU transfer Ulysses Bentley IV, freshman Quinshon Judkins and Bullock all saw significant action. Judkins has been one of the stars of camp, and on Saturday again showed why the program is excited about his potential.
"Q has really performed really well, for a freshman especially. As you can see, physically, he looks mature out there, not like a freshman," Kiffin said. " He's got a chance to be really special, and it was good to see him in a game-like situation perform like that."
The Rebels' defense was expected to be deep this season, and that too showed up Saturday, with a handful of players alternating in with the first grouping as the scrimmage progressed. Another standout of the first few practices has been Auburn junior transfer defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, and he too shined Saturday. The Oxford-native had two sacks in the scrimmage and said he feels a lot more comfortable now than he did when he enrolled in the spring.
The first series on defense included senior defensive lineman K.D. Hill, senior defensive end Tavius Robinson, senior Central Michigan transfer linebacker Troy Brown, junior TCU transfer linebacker Khari Coleman, sophomore safety Tysheem Johnson and true freshman cornerback Davison Igbinosun. Pegues and junior Georgia Tech transfer defensive end Jared Ivey were among those who rotated in with the first group later.
Senior cornerback Deantre Prince had the interception on the scrimmage's final play. Junior Iowa State transfer safety Isheem Young had what initially appeared to be an interception earlier in the scrimmage, but it was ruled out of bounds.
"It felt really good," Pegues said. "It's a lot of emotions going on, with me just being back home, first scrimmage back here. The offensive line is great, and we really just try to get each other better every day.
MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com.
