What we saw from Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders in an Ole Miss football scrimmage dominated by defense
OXFORD — Ole Miss football fans are accustomed to high-scoring games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium under Lane Kiffin. But when the Rebels had their first preseason scrimmage there Saturday, they delivered a defensive spectacle.
The defense won the day, but there was still plenty of information to gather about the Rebels' quarterback competition — the top offseason storyline with no resolution in sight.
After missing Friday's practice due to academic reasons, Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders was back under center for a healthy serving of reps. Here's what we learned:
How Ole Miss football's quarterbacks performed
Jaxson Dart and Sanders split the first-team reps.
Sanders spent the first half of the scrimmage playing with the second unit and struggled, plagued by dropped passes, bad snaps and false-start penalties. He improved greatly in the second half with the top unit. Dart, who played with the first unit in the first half, did not play after halftime.
Dart finished 7-for-9 for 88 yards. He rushed for a touchdown and threw a red-zone interception. Sanders went 8-for-17 for 135 yards. He also rushed for a touchdown, threw an interception and fumbled once.
LSU transfer Walker Howard and true freshman Austin Simmons also got plenty of run, with Simmons making a pair of flashy explosive plays. Walker struggled with his accuracy but made several plays with his feet.
Pete Golding's defense looks impressive
The last time we saw Ole Miss scrimmage, the offense tormented the defense in a high-scoring Grove Bowl. The results on Saturday were much different.
The Rebels' defense, revamped under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding, unquestionably got the better of the two units.
The defense came away with four takeaways and also forced a safety. The pass rush was a constant irritant to the quarterbacks and came away with several sacks.
"I feel like we got after the quarterback pretty well today," defensive end Cedric Johnson said. "Every unit that went in, I feel like we did a great job."
The defense did a good job bottling up running back Quinshon Judkins, too.
Trey Washington, Teja Young and Jack Damron came down with interceptions. Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste forced a fumble.
GOLDING: What makes Pete Golding a good fit for how Lane Kiffin builds Ole Miss football roster
Availability notes
Wideout Jordan Watkins, the most productive returning wide receiver from last season's roster, dressed in a non-contact jersey and did not partake in the action. Neither did UTSA transfer Zakhari Franklin, who has not practiced in full since arriving.
Linebacker Khari Coleman was also not dressed. Kiffin confirmed after the scrimmage that he has been removed from team activities because of a disciplinary matter.
"As you guys know, we handle discipline internally," Kiffin said. "We always collect all information and everything."
Michael Trigg, who appears to have been surpassed on the tight end depth chart by Memphis transfer Caden Prieskorn, saw his action limited. His only major contribution came with Howard, the third-string quarterback, under center against a reserve defense.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football scrimmage: Spencer Sanders, Jaxson Dart update
