Stressing need for Georgia to pressure Jaxson Dart on defense

The Georgia Bulldogs are once again undefeated at this point for the third season in a row. The Bulldogs are aiming for a historic three-peat in the 2023 campaign, but they’ll first have to clear the next few hurdles over the next few weeks of the season first. Up next, are the Ole Miss Rebels, led by signal-caller Jaxson Dart.

On the Thursday evening edition of the Andy Staples Show, Jake Rowe of DawgsHQ.com talked about the need for the Bulldogs’ defense to put pressure on Dart.

Jake Rowe shares his thoughts on Jaxson Dart

Staples noted that Dart is very much like Hendon Hooker, a smart runner when he has the football in his hands.

“Yeah, he is. And that’s one of those things. I circled this game after the Auburn game. I circled this game because I thought when you look at Auburn’s athleticism at quarterback. Maybe not as much as Robby Ashford. But definitely as much as Payton Thorne. Jaxson Dart kind of fit the mold. And he fit the mold as a passer. And he brought the element of the passing game that hasn’t been there,” Jake Rowe said.

Dart has shown the ability to move the football with his legs over the years dating back to his high school days at Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah). This year for the Rebels, he’s rushed for 334 yards and seven touchdowns.

“And if you look at the numbers, right? Ole Miss is not the dominant run game that it has been the past year. It’s not running for 250, 210, 225 a game like we’ve seen Lane Kiffin offenses do. It’s 180 and the reason for that is they’re throwing the ball more with Jaxson Dart. He’s getting more attempts. He’s getting chances to throw it down the field. He’s averaging 10 an attempt. Again, different quarterback on the road so far this year than he has been at home. Much better at home than he has been one the road,” Rowe continued.

The Rebels currently rank 35th in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 181 yards per game on the ground. Dart has thrown the ball 244 times so far, averaging 10.1 yards per pass.

“He’s a guy that honestly, I think the Hendon Hooker comparison is really spot on. He’s a very effective runner. He’s a very capable runner. He’s also a really good passer. And it’s gonna be up to Georgia with less talent on defense, with less talent in that front seven really. With no Jalen Carter. Really, that is the only guy that they’re missing because they didn’t have Nolan Smith for that game last year. And I guess no Jamon Dumas-Johnson either. He’s gonna miss this game as well from what we know. So, it’ll be interesting to see if Georgia kind of tries to use the same plan. Because Georgia really dialed it up on them last year,” Rowe said.

The Georgia defense currently ranks 61st in the nation with 20 sacks. While they haven’t been getting as many sacks as last season, their pass defense currently ranks 18th in the nation in passing yards allowed (182 yards per game).

No. 2 Georgia and No. 9 Ole Miss will face off on Saturday, November 11th. Kick for that one will be slated for 7:00 PM EST.