Lane Kiffin reveals Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart is returning for his senior season
Jaxson Dart is returning for his senior Ole Miss football season.
Fourth-year head coach Lane Kiffin made the announcement during RebTalk, his weekly coach’s show, on Thursday night. Dart, who’s started all but one game for the Rebels at quarterback the last two years, has one season of eligibility remaining.
“I guess I can kind of speak for him,” Kiffin said. He was taking questions from the audience. “He’s said he’s coming back, so we’re planning on him being back next year and getting better.”
Dart and his fellow Rebels are 8-2 (5-2 SEC) on the season and ranked No. 13 in the country.
Dart was injured in the loss at top-ranked Georgia over the weekend and could be limited Saturday against ULM. Ole Miss will close out the regular season with two games in five days, culminating in the annual Egg Bowl rivalry showdown at Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night.
“He’s fine,” Kiffin said. “He’ll play.”
Dart leads an Ole Miss offense ranked third in the SEC in both scoring (36.6 points per game) and total offense (466.2 yards per game).
He’s completed 170 of his 261 (65.1 percent) passes on the season for 2,579 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Dart, a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, is in his second Ole Miss season after a transfer from USC. He’s second in the SEC among quarterbacks in yards per carry (3.7). He’s third in touchdowns (seven) and fourth in yards per game (35.4).
Top 10
- 1
Underranked SEC
Lane Kiffin protests CFP rankings
- 2New
Saban chirped
Big 12 comes after GOAT
- 3
DJ Lagway
Fan flashes Florida QB to Pope
- 4Hot
Strength of Schedule
CFP Top 25 SOS ranking
- 5
Alabama needs a prayer
Tide can make the CFP but needs help
Kickoff against ULM on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network. The Rebels will honor their seniors prior the game, though Kiffin said some who will participate could return next season.
“We have a lot of guys in discussions that have another year,” Kiffin said. “There’s actually a lot of guys in this area that could come back, whether they’re thinking of leaving early or whether they’re just using the COVID year to go to the draft or some even done playing football. We’re kind of in a recruiting mode of our own players, which is a common theme nowadays.”
The Rebels are vying for their second 10-win regular season in program history and second under Kiffin.
“I don’t really like phrasing it this way, but sometimes you’ve got to look at it this way,” Kiffin said. “At the beginning of the year with all the question marks and loss of players and how the season ended last year, I think a lot of people would have signed up (for) 8-2 with a chance to get to 9-2 and then 10-2 and your two losses are Alabama and Georgia at their place. A lot of people would have taken that.
“There’s still a lot of really good things about this season.”
