OXFORD -- Knox Kiffin FaceTimes his father every day.

The 13-year-old, back home in California to start the school year, always has the same question.

What's going on with the quarterbacks?

"He always says, 'You really know, so just tell me,'" Lane Kiffin said. "I really don't know."

The elder Kiffin, of course, is Ole Miss' head coach, and he ultimately will be the one who decides who starts when the 21st-ranked Rebels face Troy on Sept. 3 in the season opener for both teams.

Last year's backup, Luke Altmyer, is battling USC transfer Jaxson Dart for the job, and following preseason camp and two scrimmages, Kiffin insisted on Monday that he simply doesn't know who will emerge as the starter.

"They're very close," Kiffin said. "I feel like every day you can go out there and say one of them and the next day say the other. It's going to be a tough call, which is a good thing."

Kiffin hasn't really dealt with a quarterback race at Ole Miss. Matt Corral was his starter from Day One in 2020 and again in 2021. The quarterback Corral beat out, John Rhys Plumlee, transferred to UCF and was announced as the Golden Knights' starter on Monday, earning congratulations from Kiffin on social media.

Kiffin insisted Monday that he views the competition as a good thing.

"You can be frustrated or you can be glass half-empty or half-full," Kiffin said. "You can say, 'You know what? If there was a big difference, that would mean someone wasn't doing very well.' I look at is as both are doing well and creating a hard situation, which is a good thing to have."

Kiffin was asked if he's begun to consider going into the season with the competition intact. Could he foresee a scenario where Dart and Altmyer are co-starters to open the campaign?

"Not yet," Kiffin said. "We still have a ways to go and we'll cross that bridge if it happens."

Kiffin didn't give out many details from Saturday's scrimmage, one that was closed to media and family.

"I think there were some really good things," Kiffin said. "We had a number of injuries defensively, so we gave up some explosive plays, which obviously is good for one side but not for the other side. I thought the speed of the offense was good and the mechanics with it, but again, we played without a few significant defensive players."

Kiffin declined to single out any players from Saturday's work, noting that the team had gone through walk-throughs and Monday's practice since that concluded.

Kiffin said wide receiver Jaylon Robinson returned to practice for a bit on Monday, perhaps motivated by the strong camp performance from JJ Henry.

Kiffin, who described Henry's camp as "awesome," said he visited with Robinson in the training room a few days.

"I asked if he had a redshirt year, and he said, 'Yeah, why?'" Kiffin said. "I said, 'If you sit here any longer, you might want to use your redshirt year the way JJ's playing.'"