Jaxson Dart: My mindset is trying to be the best quarterback in the country
Jaxson Dart wants to be the best quarterback in the country, but for the Ole Miss signal caller to do so, he has to be the starter first.
Dart, the incumbent starter with the Rebels, is in competition with Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard, two transfers into the program. After an apparent leak of Dart being the winner of the competition, Dart said no decisions were made in what looked like a frustrating press conference.
Regardless, Dart wants to up his game going into 2023 and believes he has the tools to do so.
“Yeah, I think year three for me, you know, my mindset is trying to be the best quarterback in the country,” Dart said. “So I just want to push myself every single day. I got great competition around me that’s helped me do that.”
Regardless of the lack of a quarterback decision, Dart kept his mindset the same.
“I prepare the same way each and every day and I just know everything’s gonna fall into place and we’re gonna be in a good position as a team,” Dart said.
After transferring from USC, Dart started for Ole Miss in 2022 and finished with 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 62.4% completion percentage.
“I thought quarterback play was really, really strong Saturday,” head coach Lane Kiffin said after the most recent scrimmage. “I thought the week before, the defense in general had a really good Saturday. I thought this Saturday the offense did in both the passing and running game. A bunch more points, much more yards, higher average per carry. So I thought the quarterbacks did some really good things.
“The two older guys made a significant play they’d wanna take back but I saw some really good things and I think we’re in a great position of multiple guys that could go in the game and help us win.”
As a member of the Class of 2021, Dart was a four-star recruit out of Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 7 quarterback in the class and the No. 42 overall prospect in the class when he committed to USC.
Can Dart be the best quarterback in the country? He has talent, but he’ll have to improve the results individually and collectively on the field first.