Ole Miss football has been winning big in 2023 college football free agency, also known as the era of the transfer portal. The latest addition to the Rebels program is LSU quarterback Walker Howard.
Howard was given a 4-star rating and was rated as the 42nd overall player and 4th overall quarterback in the 2022 ESPN 300 list. He ranked as the number two overall quarterback and 20th overall recruit by Rivals.
Hotty Toddy🔴🔵 @OleMissFB @Lane_Kiffin #committed pic.twitter.com/Ua7hmehq9p
— Walker Howard (@Walker_Howard4) January 18, 2023
Walker Howard was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Louisiana where he played for St. Thomas More High School. There he racked up 3,430 passing yards and 39 touchdowns in his final season. He led his team to back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020.
The 6’1, 195-pound Howard will join a talented quarterback room alongside last year’s starter Jaxson Dart and talented backup Kinkead Dent. He will be coming to Oxford with four years of eligibility remaining.
The addition of Howard from LSU has many wondering what the future of the quarterback position will be for Ole Miss football. It’s not clear yet if head coach Lane Kiffin plans on repeating what he did this past season when he had Dart and Luke Altmyer competing for the job.
After the two quarterbacks battled all camp, the job was not won by either man until after week two of the season in which they rotated in and out of the first couple of games.
Don’t be surprised if Howard pushes Dart for the starting job for the Rebels. There’s no doubt that had to be a sticking point in recruiting him to play in Oxford this coming fall.
Although the starting quarterback for 2022 may be uncertain, one thing that is certain is that whoever loses out on the job will likely be the next to transfer in the wild west of college football free agency, but at least the Rebels seem to have a couple of viable options to lead the Ole Miss football program over the next few years.