Accountability and Confidence: Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Shining under the Bright Lights of SEC Football
OXFORD, Miss. – Following a big-time performance in the win over Texas A&M, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart showed once again that he is much more confident and comfortable in year two of head coach Lane Kiffin’s offensive system.
Battle Tested ⚔️@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/TjCx1EY6SU
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
Accountability and Confidence
A week ago after the Vanderbilt game, Dart started his postgame press conference by holding himself accountable. The Rebel offense went stagnant in the second half of that game, and despite the team’s 33-7 victory, the Ole Miss QB took responsibility for the rocky half of football.
“I thought guys executed at a pretty high level throughout the night, honestly, starts with me. I thought I didn’t really execute to my standard, so pretty disappointed about that,” Dart said.
Saturday against A&M, Dart executed — time and time again — including on a come-from-behind drive in the fourth quarter to give the Rebels the 38-35 win.
In year two as a Rebel, there was never a question of whether Dart was ‘tough enough’ or had the qualities to lead a SEC program to wins. The biggest question mark going into the offseason last year was his decision making and confidence the QB had in himself.
Turnovers were somewhat of an issue for the transfer QB a year ago. Dart committed 13 total turnovers during the course of the 2022 season, throwing 11 picks and losing a pair of fumbles as well. There was never a doubt about his skill-set. But at times, it looked like SEC defenses were flustering the young signal caller, as he adjusted to a completely new offensive system.
But that was then. This is now.
The Rebel QB spoke about his growth from last year to now.
“I think just the more experience that you get, the more I feel like I’ve played a lot of big time football and I’ve seen a lot of different looks. I just felt like the game slowed down for me…I mean you’re gonna make mistakes every game, it’s minimizing those and playing the next play and I’m not getting too down on a mistake. I feel like my mentality of that standpoint has changed a lot. I’ve been able to mature a lot from it.”
Jaxson Dart on his maturation from last year
Now, in his second year as a Rebel, Dart has 23 total touchdowns and only 4 turnovers through 9 games so far. He gave credit to his playmakers after the win over A&M yesterday.
“It’s really nice when you’re able to throw it up to Tre (Harris), to JWatk (Jordan Watkins), (Caden) Prieskorn and all those guys and they’re able to make plays, makes my job easier.”
Dart on the Rebel playmakers
Shining when the lights get bright
Dart is no stranger to the big-stat games during his collegiate career. He has had a handful of 300+ yard performances during his time at Ole Miss. In fact, he even kicked off his career at USC with a near-400 yard passing performance.
He finished the game yesterday against the Aggies with 387 yards through the air, completing 24 of his 33 pass attempts and adding a pair of scores to that total.
Despite his ‘primetime’ performance against LSU a couple weeks ago, it’s safe to say this was one of Dart’s best performances of his collegiate career through the air.
QB1 🎯
387 Passing Yards, 2 TDs @JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/VzyRZJryps
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
The signal caller was asked after the game if this is the highest level at which he’s played. “I would probably say so…high school was a little bit different, I played at pretty elite high school and played at an elite level during my high school senior year,” he replied.
On top of his elite play, Dart has shown time and time again this year that he lives for the big moments. When the lights have been the brightest and his team has needed him most, Dart has delivered — whether that has been icing a game or leading a game-winning drive.
His confidence showed first in the Tulane game earlier this year. Looking to seal the game, Dart did just that, driving the Rebels down the field then escaping the pressure for a 21-yard touchdown toss to extend the Rebels’ lead to 10 late in the game.
DART TO TRIGG🎯
HUGE touchdown for Ole Miss on 4th and 4pic.twitter.com/sLbIacE5t0
— On3 (@On3sports) September 9, 2023
With all the odds against Ole Miss in the LSU matchup, the Rebel signal-caller continued to fire back at the Tigers’ defense, coming from two scores behind to win the game, 55-49. Trailing by two, Dart orchestrated the offense into the redzone, finding Tre Harris for a last-second score that led to a wild Ole Miss victory.
TRE HARRIS FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/9qqrA3tBUR
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 1, 2023
Then, against Auburn in the strange and exuberant environment of Jordan-Hare, the Ole Miss quarterback did not blink, coming up big, yet again. Leading by just a touchdown, Dart used his legs as he did all game, putting his team in position to ice the game and they did just that.
And of course, just yesterday against the Aggies, trailing by four and needing a touchdown for the win, the quarterback found a way once again. With the help of his star running back, Quinshon Judkins, Dart led the offense to yet another late, game-winning score to win the game.
He commented postgame on his confidence during those moments.
“I felt like we’d been in that position before. I felt like we had been moving the ball the whole game. So, I never felt like they (A&M) had the upper hand or anything like that. I was really confident of what was going on.”
Dart on the Rebels’ final scoring drive versus A&M
Dart has tallied 2,801 yards on the year so far with 23 total touchdowns. Oh, and he’s made it a habit of making throws like this one.
Two is tough 😤@JaxsonDart | ESPN pic.twitter.com/P73guTXIEP
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
What’s Next?
Dart and the rest of his Rebel teammates move to 8-1 on the year, 5-1 in the SEC, and prepare for a top-10 matchup in Athens next Saturday versus the Georgia Bulldogs. The biggest game of the year for the Rebels is set to host College Gameday with kickoff time and television details still TBD.
(Feature image photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he’s from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn’t stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He’s a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
