Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Named Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist

FORT WORTH, Texas – (Release) Ole Miss football junior quarterback Jaxson Dart has been named a semifinalist for the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Tuesday.

Dart is one of 20 quarterbacks named as semifinalists nationally and one of five selected from the SEC for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 20 quarterbacks have helped guide their respective teams to a combined record of 171-30 (.851) and lead 18 of the top-25 teams in the latest Associated Press poll. In all, eight FBS conferences as well as one football independent are represented on the list. The Pac-12 and SEC lead the way with five honorees apiece.

This is the latest honor for Dart, who was also recently added to both the Maxwell Award and Manning Award watch lists and is in the midst of an excellent 2023 season marshaling a Rebel offense that ranks third in the SEC in both scoring (36.6 ppg) and total offense (466.2 ypg). On the year, Dart stands at 170-of-261 (65.1 percent) for 2,579 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Dart has also been highly effective on the ground, ranking second in the SEC among QBs in yards per carry (3.7), third in touchdowns (seven) and fourth in yards per game (35.4).

Dart ranks fourth in the conference and 16th nationally at 293.3 yards of total offense per game, and he also ranks fourth in the SEC at 14.0 points responsible per game. Nationally, Dart ranks within the top-15 in yards per attempt at 9.9 (No. 5), yards per completion at 15.2 (No. 8) and passing efficiency at 164.5 (No. 12).

The Kaysville, Utah native is also starting to climb several all-time lists at Ole Miss. Entering Week 12 action, Dart ranks sixth all-time in total offense (6,521), seventh in career 300-yard passing games (5), eighth in passing yards (5,553), eighth in passing touchdowns (36) and ninth in touchdowns responsible for (44). In his overall career combining totals from his freshman season at USC in 2021, Dart owns 6,906 yards passing, 7,917 yards of total offense, 1,011 yards rushing (968 at Ole Miss), and 45 passing touchdowns.

Dart is one of just 21 quarterbacks in the FBS and four within the SEC with at least 4,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards, as well as one of 17 with at least 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. With 94 more passing yards, Dart would become just the 15th active FBS quarterback at 7,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.

The next step in the process will be to select the award’s three finalists. The finalists will again be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as bonus ballots awarded from the second round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote.

For the fourth straight year, the Fan Vote will take place on the award’s three social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X) – and the top five vote getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.

To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O’Brien Award post highlighting their quarterback. The second round will be open until Friday, Nov. 24 at noon (CT). The three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 28, while the winner will be announced live on Friday, Dec. 8, on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.

In 1938, O’Brien, who was a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.

The 47th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Timeline
Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023 Announced (Tuesday, Oct. 31)
Semifinalist Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Oct. 31-Friday, Nov. 10)
Semifinalists Announced (Tuesday, Nov. 14)
Finalist Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Nov. 14-Friday, Nov. 24)
Finalists Announced (Tuesday, Nov. 28)
Winner Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Nov. 28-Friday, Dec. 1)
Winner Announced on Home Depot College Football Awards (Friday, Dec. 8)
47th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner (Monday, Feb. 19, 2024)

2023 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalists

Carson Beck, Georgia, Jr., 6-4, 220, Jacksonville, Fla.
Brady Cook, Missouri, Jr., 6-2, 205, St. Louis, Mo.
Jayden Daniels, LSU, Sr., 6-4, 210, San Bernardino, Calif.
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, Jr., 6-2, 220, Kaysville, Utah
Quinn Ewers, Texas, So., 6-2, 195, Southlake, Texas
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma, Sr., 5-11, 204, Mililani, Hawaii
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-1, 212, Charlotte, N.C.
Drake Maye, North Carolina, So., 6-4, 230, Huntersville, N.C.
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan, Jr., 6-3, 202, La Grange Park, Ill.
Jordan McCloud, James Madison, Sr., 6-0, 199, Tampa, Fla.
Kyle McCord, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 215, Mt. Laurel, N.J.
Jalen Milroe, Alabama, So., 6-2, 220, Katy, Texas
Bo Nix, Oregon, Sr., 6-3, 214, Pinson, Ala.
Michael Penix Jr., Washington, Sr., 6-3, 213, Tampa, Fla.
Michael Pratt, Tulane, Jr., 6-3, 220, Boca Raton, Fla.
Kaidon Salter, Liberty, So., 6-1, 200, Cedar Hill, Texas
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, Jr., 6-2, 215, Dallas, Texas
Jordan Travis, Florida State, Sr., 6-1, 212, West Palm Beach, Fla.
DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State, Jr., 6-4, 252, Inland Empire, Calif.
Caleb Williams, USC, Jr., 6-1, 220, Washington, D.C.

About the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The Davey O’Brien Award honors candidates who exemplify Davey O’Brien’s enduring character while exhibiting teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership in both academics and athletics. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrienAward.com.

Previous Davey O’Brien Award winners include: Jim McMahon (BYU, 1981), Todd Blackledge (Penn State, 1982), Steve Young (BYU, 1983), Doug Flutie (Boston College, 1984), Chuck Long (Iowa, 1985), Vinny Testaverde (Miami, 1986), Don McPherson (Syracuse, 1987), Troy Aikman (UCLA, 1988), Andre Ware (Houston, 1989), Ty Detmer (BYU, 1990-91), Gino Torretta (Miami, 1992), Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Kerry Collins (Penn State, 1994), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1995-96), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Michael Bishop (Kansas State, 1998), Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech, 1999), Chris Weinke (Florida State, 2000), Eric Crouch (Nebraska, 2001), Brad Banks (Iowa, 2002), Jason White (Oklahoma, 2003-04), Vince Young (Texas, 2005), Troy Smith (Ohio State, 2006), Tim Tebow (Florida, 2007), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, 2008), Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009), Cam Newton (Auburn, 2010), Robert Griffin III (Baylor, 2011), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M, 2012), Jameis Winston (Florida State, 2013), Marcus Mariota (Oregon, 2014), Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma, 2017), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma, 2018), Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019), Mac Jones (Alabama, 2020), Bryce Young (Alabama, 2021) and Max Duggan (TCU, 2022).

About the NCFAA
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

Adam Brown

Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.