Jaxson Dart injury: Ole Miss QB heads to locker room after 1st-quarter interception vs. Georgia

After his first-quarter interception against Georgia, Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart headed to the locker room with an injury. He quickly went to the tent, but later went back to the locker room as Georgia scored the first touchdown of the game.

Dart came up limping after the play, appearing to suffer a leg injury. He was in the injury tent for a brief period, but headed toward the locker room from there. ABC’s Molly McGrath reported Dart suffered an apparent ankle injury and was still in the locker room as Austin Simmons took over at quarterback.

“Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart limped off the field and back to the locker room in visible pain, favoring his left ankle,” McGrath said after Georgia took a 7-0 lead. “You saw him slam his helmet in frustration. I’m told he went to the locker room for further evaluation, but he couldn’t put any weight on his left leg. I’ll keep you updated as I learn more, but the Rebels’ quarterback still back in the locker room right now.”

Dart later returned to the game with 5:04 to play in the first quarter. He engineered a scoring drive, giving Ole Miss a 10-7 lead on a Caden Davis field goal.

The pick was Dart’s lone pass attempt of the opening drive as Georgia took over and later scored to jump out in front. But Ole Miss didn’t go down quietly as Ulysses Bentley IV punched in a touchdown to tie things back up at 7-7 with 6:53 to go in the first quarter.

Dart is off to a strong start to the 2024 season, entering Week 11 as the SEC’s leading passer with 356.7 yards per game. He’s also the only quarterback in the league to top the 3,000-yard mark so far, and is coming off a monster performance against Arkansas with 515 yards and six touchdowns.

Jaxson Dart set multiple Ole Miss records last week

In the process, Dart set an impressive record. He moved past Archie Manning for the most passing yards and also became the winningest quarterback in program history. Those are quite the achievements, and Lane Kiffin had high praise for his quarterback.

“I thought he was great,” Kiffin said. “I said he played well last week. I mean, the guy takes criticism and I think he plays very well. He’s the all-time winningest quarterback here and has most total yards in the history of the school, so he must be doing something right even before today.

“I’m just glad that hopefully everybody sees it now. And he’s worked really hard to get there. It’s not just talent alone. The guy works as hard as anybody all week long, always up in the office, always trying to find new things and work with the new different receivers. Jordan [Watkins] used to be a slot and then with Tre [Harris] out we’ve moved him outside, and they did a great job working together throughout the weeks. And this week in order to do this.”