Reports: Lane Kiffin Lands Star Portal Players as Jaxson Dart, Michael Trigg Commit to Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss fans have been on the edge of their seats for the last couple of weeks, scouring the internet and refreshing message board feeds every few minutes in hopes of learning where USC transfers Jaxson Dart and Michael Trigg would commit.
Rebels can finally sit back and relax as it appears the two will be attending school in Oxford, according to ESPN’s Chris Low who posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon, earning a couple of retweets from head coach Lane Kiffin.
Former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart tells ESPN he will play at @OleMissFB next season and is enrolled in school. The 6-3, 215-pound Dart passed for 1,353 yards and nine TDs in six games as a freshman. He’s a great fit for @Lane_Kiffin’s system with his arm strength and mobility.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 29, 2022
Make it two talented USC transfers headed to @OleMissFB. Tight end Michael Trigg joins quarterback Jaxson Dart in telling me today that he will be playing for the Rebels next season. @Lane_Kiffin is compiling one of the premier transfer portal classes in the country.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 29, 2022
The highly-sought-after duo had narrowed the list of their destinations to Oklahoma and the Rebels, with the race between the two programs intensifying over the last couple of weeks. Dart visited BYU and both OU and Ole Miss coaches traveled to Utah to visit the talented QB.
Dart and Trigg saw action with the Trojans as freshmen in 2021.
New Rebels’ offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. and passing game coordinator and tight ends coach John David Baker both seemed to indicate via their respective Twitter accounts that the Rebels were hitting the “dart” board with a bullseye, with Lane Kiffin offering his input as well.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 29, 2022
🎯
— Charlie Weis Jr (@WeisJr_M) January 29, 2022
Bullseye🎯#ComeToTheSip
— John David Baker (@coach_jdbaker) January 29, 2022
Jaxson Dart
Dart, the No. 3 transfer in the entirety of the portal, regardless of position, is expected to be in a battle with sophomore Luke Altmyer to replace Matt Corral.
Altmyer took over for an injured Corral in the Sugar Bowl and he completed 14-of-28 for 178 yards and a touchdown. Altmyer’s other significant action was at Auburn where he was 5-for-5 when Corral had to leave the game due to injury.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound Dart, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021, took the Pac-12 by storm when he replaced injured starter Kedon Slovis when USC played at Washington State. The Kaysville, Utah, native completed 30-of-46 for 391 yards and four touchdowns. His performance set a school record for a debut game.
For the season, he threw for 1,353 yards and nine scores while throwing five interceptions. Dart also ran 22 times for 43 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
He was named Utah’s 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Corner Canyon High School. Dart graduated early to enroll at USC.
Currently, 247Sports has Dart listed as a five-star portal player, ranking him as the No. 3 transfer-portal quarterback in the country, barely behind Caleb Williams and Quinn Ewers (a Texas signee).
Michael Trigg
Hotty Toddy 🙂 pic.twitter.com/KU3iTGjPIw
— Lil Mike (@mtrigg_) January 29, 2022
Trigg, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound Tampa, Fla., native saw action in six games as a freshman with the Trojans, making four starts in the Trojans’ two-tight end packages. He suffered a knee injury against Utah [Oct. 9], which sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Trigg, the overall No. 2 tight end in the transfer portal, played 115 total snaps, including an average of 30 offensive snaps per game his final three games before the injury.
Trigg, who caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, is just as hot of a commodity in the portal as his teammate Dart. Currently, he’s ranked as the No. 2 tight end in the entirety of the portal.
USC freshman tight end Michael Trigg is a BEAST. 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZVQAGVjziw
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) August 19, 2021
Trigg could have been impressed with Kiffin’s recent history with tight ends. The final year Kiffin was at Florida Atlantic, Harrison Bryant won the John Mackey Award which goes to the nation’s top college tight end.
Kenny Yeboah was the first tight end Kiffin coached at Ole Miss and he is now with the New York Jets. Last season, Casey Kelly was the leading receiver as a tight end for the Rebels. He caught 17 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown.
Speaking of Kenny Yeboah, he tweeted Trigg this week:
@mtrigg_ I’m telling ya coach kiffin gon get you right 💯💯
— Kenny Yeboah (@Kenny_Yeboah84) January 29, 2022
What’s Next?
Presumably, per reports, both Dart and Trigg should be in class Monday and fully able to participate in spring drills with the Rebels. It will be fun to watch them dive in and compete with the other talented players on the team.
Kick back and enjoy the show, Rebs!
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
