'That's what you want in your quarterback': Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart showed his toughness in Arkansas game
There were plenty of things that could have gone wrong for Ole Miss in its win over Arkansas. One in particular was the injury to Jaxson Dart.
What was luckily not a major issue for Ole Miss, Dart got hurt on the second play of the game according to head coach Lane Kiffin, but played through it over the next three-plus hours.
Dart went on to complete 64 percent of his passes (16-of-25) for 153 yards and a touchdown against Arkansas. He also rushed for 33 yards on 12 carries.
The Ole Miss offense struggled for consistency a week after putting over 700 total yards and 55 points. Part of that was due to Dart’s early-game injury, but his teammates respected the fact he fought through it for the last 97 percent of the game.
“He didn’t look up to his full potential. He was a little bit banged up through the whole game,” said Jordan Watkins on Tuesday. “Dart’s a tough guy and he was able to play through it. That’s what you want in your quarterback. A guy who can go out there and give it all on the line for them no matter how they’re feeling. It was cool to see him go out there and battle through that.”
In his second season at the helm of the Ole Miss offense Dart has had ups and downs through the first six games. Though, he has thrown for 1,638 yards and is fourth in passing in the Southeastern Conference.
Dart’s 273 yards per game is good for fifth best in the SEC and 12 touchdown passes makes him the third best quarterback in the SEC in that category.
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Looking deeper into the numbers Dart has an overall 86.8 in the passing grade according to Pro Football Focus, making him the 26th best quarterback in the country in that category. His overall offense grade of 91.0 is 13th best among quarterbacks at the midway point of the season.
When it comes to Dart and the rest of his Ole Miss teammates’ health the bye week comes at a good time.
After the run through the SEC West gauntlet that was Alabama, LSU and Arkansas the Rebels were a little beat up. The open date landing right in the middle of Ole Miss’ 12-game schedule is considered perfect timing for Kiffin.
For Dart who was limping slightly after the Arkansas game, and Tre Harris who suffered another lower body injury, they could not have agreed more in getting some time off this weekend.
“It definitely helps,” Dart told The Ole Miss Spirit on Wednesday. “We had some dudes that were banged up with just our six weeks in a row. Excited to get some of the guys back on the field at 100 percent and the guys that were banged up to be able to bounce back.”
Both Dart and Harris both should be good to go come Auburn next weekend when the season resumes. Getting Harris as close to full go as possible will be more good timing with Watkins status up in the air after he reportedly injured his hand during Wednesday’s practice.
