Jaxson Dart discusses Rebels’ win over OU, tight end production, and defense’s dominating second-half: ‘It felt really good to get into the win column’
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss moved to 2-2 in the SEC following the 26-14 win over Oklahoma Saturday. Though the Rebels won by 12, they were behind the Sooners 14-10 at halftime, looking a bit unorganized on both sides of the ball. In his postgame press conference, quarterback Jaxson Dart spoke on how the team’s poor performance in the first two quarters motivated them to come out firing in the second half.
“Coach Kiffin talked about it, we’re two plays away from being the best team in the country. This one felt really good. Definitely at halftime, there was a lot of discussion amongst us players, and we felt like we missed out on a critical opportunity in the first half, so it felt really good to get back in the win column, and hopefully, we can just continue to stack these.“
– Dart on the win against OU
Jaxson finished the day completing 73 percent of his passes against Oklahoma, throwing for 311 yards and a touchdown. Because of the absence of receiver Tre Harris due to injury, Dart says the coaches created a variety of updated sets for the offense in an attempt to spread the ball out to more players.
Jaxson Dart is tied for the most games with 300+ Passing Yards in School History 🎯@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/VPC4R5SNXL
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 26, 2024
“I thought we did a great job. I thought the coaches did a great job scheming up these past two weeks and getting into different sets that we haven’t been in a lot this year, you know. I was super proud of a lot of guys stepping up. How about Micah Davis making a huge third-down conversion? I felt like that was a play that really changed the momentum of the game. Guys knew their role this week and I thought they did a great job handling it and making plays for me.“
– Dart on the offense without Tre Harris
On top of the additional wide receiver output, the involvement from tight ends Caden Prieskorn and Dae’Quan Wright was crucial for the offensive success of Dart. The duo combined for 125 of Dart’s 311 passing yards, along with a touchdown from Prieskorn. Jaxson talked about the importance of the pair.
“I love throwing to them. They are extremely great players, and they do amazing things with the ball in their hands. So, I was happy we could scheme some things up and get them the ball, especially us attacking the middle of the field. I feel like that’s something we have lacked, so I was really happy with our ability to do that, and those guys made really great explosive plays.”
– Dart on the tight ends
Ole Miss defense dominates in second half
Looking at the other side of the field, the Rebel defense put on a spectacular performance, limiting Oklahoma to zero points scored in the second half. Pete Golding’s unit forced and recovered a fumble, recorded 88 total tackles, 10 sacks, and 15 tackles for loss in the contest. Jaxson spoke on the production of the defense.
Double digit sacks on the day 🦈#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/w5DzX34uSf
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 27, 2024
“I’ve said this, it sucks going against them. I was really happy with how they played, especially in the second half getting after the quarterback, we even could’ve had a few more (sacks). They did a great job and completely took over the game in the second half.“
– Dart on the defense
Between the highs and lows, Ole Miss walked away with another SEC win, leaving their playoff dreams in front of them for another week. For Dart, he especially enjoyed this one after the loss to LSU.
“I said it in the locker-room, I want to get used to his feeling. I think everybody, from the staff to the players, can all agree with that. We have a really big challenge coming up next week, and we have to continue to stack these.”
– Dart on his postgame morale
Ole Miss will travel to Fayetteville next week to take on Arkansas with an 11 a.m. CT kickoff. Throughout the week, be sure to stay tuned with The Rebel Walk for all of your Ole Miss sports needs.
Hotty Toddy!
