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WATCH: USC freshman Jaxson Dart throws first career touchdown

SimonGibbs_UserImageby:Simon Gibbs•09/18/21•

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It took a few drives, but USC freshman Jaxson Dart on Saturday threw his first career college touchdown against the Washington State Cougars.

USC, trailing Washington State 14-0 before halftime, was forced to put its freshman quarterback in after starting quarterback Kedon Slovis was injured on the Trojans’ first drive.

After starting the drive on their own seven-yard line, Dart put together an excellent, 11-play, 93-yard drive for USC. Dart completed seven of nine passing attempts on the drive, capped off by an incredible fourth-and-9 completion in the final play. The freshman found wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. wide open over the top for a 38-yard touchdown, his first of his young college career.

Dart finished the first half completing 12 of 18 passing attempts, good for 156 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one interception in his first drive. Dart also rushed five times for 35 rushing yards, including a long of 18 yards.

Slovis suffers injury, USC calls Dart

It’s been a tough week for the USC football program, and after an injury to Slovis, things were looking even worse.

Slovis, USC’s starting quarterback, went down after getting sacked by Washington State defenders. He laid on his back while USC training staff attended to him, but it was somewhat unclear what he hurt. Slovis was able to get up and jog off the field on his own power — and all this happened just days after Clay Helton was fired on Monday.

For a while, it appeared as though Slovis may be able to reenter the game. He was seen warming up on the sidelines as Washington State held possession, testing the severity of the injury before USC retained possession. The warm-up was short-lived, though, as he returned to the injury tent moments after. He was replaced by Dart on USC’s second drive.

Dart, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound freshman from Kaysville, Utah, won the 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year Award last season at Corner Canyon 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.