McCready: Adversity, competition forged Ole Miss' Dart into elite QB

DALLAS — In November of 2022, Jaxson Dart’s first season as Ole Miss’ quarterback was coming to a bit of an ignominious end.

The Rebels blew a fourth-quarter chance at home against Alabama, were blown out at Arkansas and then basically no-showed in an Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi State. Frustration — from players to coaches and coaches to players — wasn’t exactly difficult to sense.

A month later, Ole Miss lost to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl in Houston. Within weeks, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels had brought in two quarterbacks — former five-star prospect Walker Howard from LSU and former Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State.

Sanders’ transfer, especially, spurred speculation that Dart, who had transferred to Ole Miss from USC, might be on the move again.

Dart, very clearly, didn’t listen. Instead, he doubled down on his resolve. Almost two years later, Dart is set to begin the 2024 season as Ole Miss’ unquestioned starter, a possible first-round NFL Draft choice and a Heisman Trophy contender. The Rebels won 11 of 13 games in 2023, including a victory over Penn State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in late December and enter this campaign as a top-10 team and a legitimate candidate to win both the Southeastern Conference and national titles.

“I honestly don’t look back at it probably as much as I should, just to see the growth,” Dart said. “It’s definitely been a wild ride, seeing your experiences year in and year out, but I’m thankful for each and every one of them because I feel like it’s put me in the situation I’m in today.”

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On Monday, as he represented Ole Miss at SEC Media Days at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Dallas, Dart said picking Ole Miss and staying in Oxford through the adversity was “the best decision I’ve made.”

The quarterback competitions, first with Luke Altmyer and then with Sanders, made him a better player and tougher mentally. The pressure from Kiffin to become a better decision-maker and more protective of the football has allowed Dart to transition from an elite athlete with high-level skills to a trusted quarterback capable of dissecting the nation’s most talented defenses.

“It’s the best decision I could have made for my development and chasing my dreams,” Dart said. “I’m really happy with where I am now.”

Dart said Monday he’s “naturally progressed” as a quarterback over the years, focusing on mistakes he’s made in the past to be more prepared for the future.

“I feel really comfortable with where I am,” Dart said. “I’m always chasing something. I look forward to this season and kind of putting on a show, if you will. I have great teammates and coaches around me who are going to put me in a position to succeed and at the same time, I always like to look at what I didn’t do as good the year before and have humility with myself and attack the things I struggled with.

“There’s a lot more on my plate this year, which is something I really enjoy. There’s a lot of room to make my checks and play my game but at the same time communicate with (Ole Miss offensive coordinator) Coach (Charlie) Weis and Coach Kiffin.”

After the collapse at the end of the 2022 season, Dart emerged as one of the strongest leaders on the Ole Miss roster. Last season, when adversity hit in the form of a loss at Alabama and injuries to the wide receiver corps, Dart willed the Rebels to wins in close games against LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Auburn. With even more transfers joining the roster for this season, Dart knows he has to continue to be a vocal leader in the locker room and on the practice field.

“I’m excited for us but that’ll be a big step for us to see how we respond,” Dart said. “I feel really good about it. The work that we’ve put in this offseason, the offseason running and lifting is not easy and I feel like our team is very mature and there are a ton of guys who have a ton of experience and that helps.

“A leader is someone who brings along others to help them play their very best, and I feel like I’ve kind of embraced that role. I’ve made so many great, genuine relationships with my teammates and I feel like we just have a trust with each other and an understanding. We hold each other accountable to play and give all that we have, whether it’s an offseason run or an easy routes-on-air slant route. We take pride in all of that.”

Dart said Monday he doesn’t think about the NFL or individual awards. Instead, he insisted he’s focused on winning. The goal is simple to state but difficult to attain.

“We have the capability to do whatever we want this year,” Dart said. “It’s going to come down to how tight we can form a connection between each other and that bond and that connection.”