Jaxson Dart is throwing the football 'better than he ever as' entering year two at Ole Miss
Ole Miss has a very crowded quarterback room which brings up yet another potential quarter battle competition in Oxford for fall camp, but 2022 starter Jaxson Dart looks poised to retain that status.
There has been no official decree from head coach Lane Kiffin regarding who will take the first snaps of the season when Ole Miss hosts Mercer on September 2. On Thursday when making the rounds in Nashville at the Southeaster Conference Media Days Kiffin barely brought up the position battle and was rarely asked.
Dart is the lone returning scholarship quarterback from a season ago but he quickly got company with Spencer Sanders and Walker Howard coming to Ole Miss this winter. Then do not forget freshman Austin Simmons who made the surprise commitment flip to join the Rebels this summer.
But Dart continues to be the main focus when the topic of who the Ole Miss starter will be after the dust of fall camp starts.
Entering year two under Kiffin and co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. there are plenty of expectations for Dart and the comparisons to what Matt Corral did in his second year with Kiffin.
As for Dart’s game the progress and positive steps forward have been noticed.
“I think Jaxson’s done an amazing job. He had a great spring,” Kiffin said. “From a play standpoint, a leadership standpoint, from improvement. Throwing the ball better than he ever has. I think he’s going to have a great camp.”
The boost of confidence from Kiffin for Dart is nothing new but when comparing what he said this year to last year’s Media Days gives the feeling things are possibly settled at the quarterback spot.
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Kiffin did say Sanders is now “100 percent” entering fall camp after having a limited spring for the majority of those four weeks in March and April. The all clear medical report on Sanders could make things interesting in the initial part of camp next month as he looked very comfortable four weeks into learning a new offensive system at the Grove Bowl.
Related: The learning curve is gone for Jaxson Dart entering year two at Ole Miss
If Dart gets the nod to stay the Ole Miss starting quarterback he has votes of confidence from his teammates as well.
Throughout the 2022 season Dart showed growth and progress with each passing week. The results on the scoreboard were not there for Ole Miss but its quarterback was showing the signs of grasping life as a SEC competitor.
The experience from last year and the lessons learned are evident when talking with Dart this summer. During Thursday’s Media Day rounds his locker room has noticed the leadership increase.
“Definitely way (more) comfortable,” said Quinshon Judkins of Dart. “He’s older, more mature. He knows a lot more about the offense and the defenses that we face. Coming in year two in the SEC, you know, it’s a different conference from where he came from, originally. So in his second year here I think he’s more mature and he’ll be ready to face everybody.”
Both Dart and Judkins grew up together in the Ole Miss and a trial by fire that is the SEC schedule. Each looked poised to show massive gains in year two.
