USC quarterback Jaxson Dart gives update on own injury status

USC quarterback Jaxson Dart spoke to media for the first time since his meniscus tear, providing an update to his own injury and healing process. Dart gave no indication on when he would return, but informed reporters that he wants to be back as soon as possible.

USC’s Jaxson Dart gives injury update

“USC quarterback Jaxson Dart just spoke to media for first time [since] his meniscus tear,” reported Adam Grosbard of the O.C. Register. “Says every day doctors are allowing him to do different things on field. No exact target date for his return but wants to be back as soon as possible.”

Jaxson Dart was injured during his impressive debut as USC quarterback. After taking the field for an injured Kedon Slovis, who exited on the opening possession of the game against Washington State with an injury of his own. Dart passed for 391 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the Trojans 45-14 victory. He was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for his performance.

He appeared to suffer the torn meniscus to his right knee late in the first half of the win over Washington State after getting tackled on a run. Dart grabbed around his knee area after the play, and had a noticeable limp through the rest of the game. He wore a knee brace during the second half.

Jaxson Dart’s progress

USC quarterback Jaxson Dart is now just three weeks removed from having knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but the freshman reached a significant benchmark in his recovery last Tuesday: he attended USC practice in full pads and a knee brace, according to WeAreSC’s Scott Schrader.

With Dart unavailable in recent weeks, USC has turned back to Kedon Slovis — who enters his third season as USC’s starting quarterback — after X-rays and MRI results on his neck both came back negative. In three seasons, Slovis has thrown for 5,910 yards and 50 touchdowns.

Dart, a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, ranked No. 6 in the 2021 On3 300, and he’s the third-highest ranked quarterback on the list. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound freshman from Kaysville, Utah, won the 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year Award last season in high school after committing to USC. He kept a 69.6 completion percentage as a senior in high school, throwing for a national-best 4,691 yards and a state-record 67 touchdowns.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this article.