Jaxson Dart addresses his mindset despite not knowing who will start for Ole Miss
Just days before Ole Miss gets their season started, Lane Kiffin has yet to name a starter. Luke Altmyer and Jaxson Dart are battling it out for the Rebels, hoping to replace Matt Corral. The competition has not gone swimmingly, with Kiffin not being afraid to voice his opinion. Even so, there must be a decision soon from the head coach.
Dart had the opportunity to explain his mindset this late in fall camp with no starting quarterback being named. He acknowledged every coach has a different method of determining a winner but is preparing himself to be the starter. At the end of the day, Dart just wants to win and will do everything he can to accomplish that goal.
“Every coach kind of has their own approach on how they handle these quarterback battles,” Dart said. “Really, my mindset going for is trying to prepare myself like I am going to be the same. I know Luke is doing the same thing. At the end of the day, we just want to win. We’re going to do everything in our power to do that.”
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Steve Young has been a source of inspiration for Dart throughout the battle. He said self-improvement has been his main goal every day, not winning the starting quarterback role. Controlling what you can control, another commonly used term during press conferences, was thrown in there as well by Dart.
“I think a big thing is focusing on the things that you can control,” said Dart. “Steve Young has a quote where he talks about — in competition is really just working on the self-improvement each and every day. That’s kind of what I keep in mind going forward.”
USC experience helping Jaxson Dart at Ole Miss
Quarterback competitions are nothing new for Dart, going through a similar experience while with USC. However, that battle occurred in the middle of the season, going up against Kedon Slovis. Dart said his time with the Trojans has helped him in Oxford, never getting too high emotionally or too low.
“It’s helped me tremendously,” he said. “Especially me having to go through it during the season. That’s an experience for sure. But definitely, me being able to stay level-headed, just trying to control the things I can control. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low and just try to steadily improve myself.”
Ole Miss begins the season against Troy on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. Kiffin has not announced if Dart will be out there leading the Rebels quite yet. If there’s one thing we do know though, it’s Dart has the right mindset entering the year.