Injuries limiting Kiffin’s ability to evaluate
Mississippi coach expects most of players to be back healthy soon
OXFORD — Injuries among Ole Miss football’s top pass catchers are making it tough for coach Lane Kiffin to evaluate his quarterbacks.
Sophomores Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart are a month into their spring competition to replace Matt Corral as Ole Miss’ quarterback.
Neither were particularly impressive in last Saturday’s scrimmage, but they were playing without a full arsenal of weapons. Wide receivers Jonathan Mingo, Jordan Watkins and Jalen Knox sat out and no tight ends were available during the scrimmage.
“That’s challenging, I don’t care who you are,” Kiffin said. “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.”
Kiffin said he wants to see his quarterbacks do a better job of limiting turnovers, regardless of injuries. Dart threw two interceptions in Saturday’s scrimmage and Altmyer lost a fumble on a botched handoff.
Kiffin didn’t give details on the severity of any of the injuries but he said he expects most of the players to be back healthy soon.
In the interim, Ole Miss is using this
time to evaluate some of the receivers lower on the depth chart.
Kiffin said Bralon Brown and Brandon Buckhaulter have taken advantage
of their opportunities, JJ Henry has shown flashes and senior Dannis Jackson is getting more consistent but needs to continue working toward showing his
best stuff every day.
Ole Miss has two more weeks of spring football practices, culminating in the Grove Bowl on April 23 at 12 p.m.