An honest assessment of the Ole Miss QBs, from one of Rebel football’s top offensive options
Jaxson Dart is the incumbent starter at quarterback for Ole Miss football.
He maintained his grip on QB1 in spring practices and despite the presence of decorated transfers Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Walker Howard (LSU). Sanders only has one year of eligibility remaining and is one of the most experienced signal-callers returning in all of college football with over 40 starts under his belt. Howard is a one-time four-star and Top 50 prospect oozing with upside and potential.
But Dart, despite it all, has seemingly been unfazed.
“We have a lot of leaders on this team, and it’s really cool to have a lot of these transfers because a lot of them are vets,” Dart recently told the Ole Miss Spirit. “They’re only here for one year. There’s not a lot of time for us to mesh in that stuff, so we got to get that done quickly, and that’s been a huge point of focus for us.”
Dart didn’t turn the ball over all spring.
But his production extends far beyond the field, as detailed by first-year Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris.
Harris this week sat down with the Ole Miss Spirit and broke down each of the three Rebel QBs, among other topics. Harris last winter transferred in from Louisiana Tech, where he had 65 receptions for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago. He was named a first-team All-Conference USA selection. He also earned honorable mention all-league honors in 2021.
“Each guy, I feel like, brings something different to the (table), for sure,” Harris said. “Everybody loves Jaxson; I can tell you that right now. He knows his receivers so well and everybody’s so connected with him well. The chemistry is 100 with him.
“He knows how to lead the team, and he’s willing to do things most guys aren’t willing to do. He’s definitely going to be one of those guys who’s going to be up with you. Say you’ve got a punishment, he’s going to be up there with you to do the punishment with you and have your back and encourage you.”
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As for Sanders and Howard?
“With Spencer, he’s a gamer,” Harris continued. “You can tell just by the way he plays. Even from the spring game, you can tell his game ticks up another gear. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve seen from him — just the way he can switch gears from looking through his progressions to, ‘Boom, OK, nothing’s open, I’m going straight for the first down.’
“Walker’s a natural-born leader. That’s one thing I really realized whenever I first really met him out here. He can lead guys. He’s not just saying, ‘Hey, do this, do that.’ It’s life in general. He’s a natural-born leader (and) can tell guys what to do in this certain situation and how to act in this situation. And he’s not afraid to get on you. Seeing that in a younger guy is huge, I feel like. Not a lot of young guys are going to come up to you, especially an older guy, and be like, ‘Hey, you didn’t run this route right. You need to do it like this.’ Not a lot of guys are going to tell you, ‘Hey, you need to be on time for this.’
“Seeing that from a younger guy is huge for our program.”
