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Former Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders commits to Ole Miss for final season

Another high-profile quarterback transfer is heading to Ole Miss.

After four seasons as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State, Spencer Sanders told ESPN on Thursday that he has committed to Ole Miss for the 2023 season.

Sanders' commitment to Ole Miss comes a day after Walker Howard also pledged to play for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. Howard was a five-star recruit in the 2022 class who spent his freshman season as the third-stringer at LSU.

While Howard has four years of eligibility remaining, Sanders is headed to Oxford for his final season of college football. Sanders chose Ole Miss over Auburn, he told ESPN.

Over four seasons at Oklahoma State, Sanders threw for 9,553 yards and 67 touchdowns with 40 interceptions, completing 61% of his attempts. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Sanders also rushed for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns during his time playing for the Cowboys.

Sanders redshirted as a true freshman before becoming the team’s starter in 2019 and winning the Big 12’s offensive freshman of the year award. His best season came in 2021 when he threw for 2,839 yards and 20 touchdowns and had 668 yards and six scores on the ground. For those efforts, he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

In 2022, Sanders was limited to just 10 games due to injury. He finished the season with 2,642 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions with career-low completion percentage of 57.6.

Sanders joins Jaxson Dart, Walker Howard in Ole Miss QB room

At Ole Miss, Sanders immediately becomes the favorite to start in 2023, but he will compete with both Howard and Jaxson Dart.

Dart, a USC transfer, was the Ole Miss’ starter in 2022 as he beat out Luke Altmyer in preseason camp. Dart had an up-and-down year as Kiffin relied heavily on his running game led by standout freshman Quinshon Judkins (1,567 yards, 16 TDs). Dart threw for 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and also rushed for 614 yards on the year.

After the season, Altmyer transferred to Illinois. That left Ole Miss hurting for depth at quarterback with just two walk-ons on the roster at the position beyond Dart. But things changed in just a two-day span with Howard and Sanders both committing.

Ole Miss went 8-5 in 2022. The Rebels started 7-0 before losing five of six to close out the year, including losses to Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl and to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl.

Kiffin has a 23-13 record (14-11 SEC) in three years as Ole Miss’ head coach.