WATCH: New Ole Miss Rebels QB Spencer Sanders 2022 Oklahoma State Highlights
There is a new quarterback in Oxford, with former Oklahoma State Cowboys Spencer Sanders committing to the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday.
And with that, comes a slew of questions:
What will happen to 2022 starter Jaxson Dart?
Is Sanders really a better option for the Rebels than Dart?
Is the recent transfer addition QB, Walker Howard, still the future?
Will the Rebels still chase a high school QB before national signing day?
Given the nature of Lane Kiffin and the 2023 version of college football, those questions are tough to answer.
What we can tell you, however, is that Spencer Sanders is a very good quarterback. Perhaps one of, if not the most underrated in the Power 5 conferences.
Not without flaws, of course, but he has undoubtedly been one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12 since taking over as the starter in Stillwater.
He also possesses all the tools that Lane Kiffin covets in a starting quarterback.
And most importantly, he comes with a wealth of experience.
Sanders, 23, was the starting quarterback for the Cowboys from 2019-2022, playing in 44 games and completing 765 of 1,254 passes of 9,553 yards and 67 touchdowns with 40 interceptions and a 136.2 quarterback rating while rushing 493 times for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns.
In 2021, Sanders helped lead the Cowboys to a 12-2 record, a Big 12 Championship appearance, and a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, with their only losses coming at Iowa State and to Baylor in Arlington in the title game.
In 2022, despite missing three games, the senior completed 212 of 368 passes for 2,642 yards and 17 touchdowns, with nine interceptions and a 128.3 quarterback rating.
Sanders also rushed for 107 times for 391 yards and eight scores in 2022.
With Sanders in the lineup this season, the Cowboys were 7-3. Without him, they were 0-3.
So is Sanders an upgrade over Dart? The film says yes. The stats say... maybe?
In comparison, 2022 Ole Miss starter Jaxson Dart, whose future with the program now seemingly is in flux, completed 226 of 263 passes for 2,974 yards and 20 touchdowns with 11 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 143.6, leading the Rebels to a 7-0 start.
Dart also rushed 128 times for 614 yards and one score.
However, after a fast 7-0 start, the Rebels would go on to lose four of their last five outings, including an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl.
With Sanders, who only has one year of eligibility remaining, now in the quarterback room, it should be assumed that he will have the inside track over Dart to win the starting quarterback job in 2023.
This, in turn, gives newly committed former five-star and LSU transfer Walker Howard up to three years to be the starter after Sanders departs for the NFL.
It also seemingly leaves Dart as the odd man out.
And while talk around the program indicates that Dart will stick it out through the spring and try and compete for the job, he will certainly have an uphill battle ahead of him.
Either way, the future of the Ole Miss quarterback position has both radically changed and dramatically improved over the last 72 hours.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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