Jaxson Dart still holding on to the top spot in Ole Miss QB race
Ole Miss Quarterback Jaxson Dart was just 24 yards short of passing for 3,000 yards on 62.4% accuracy and 20 touchdowns.
But there was one statistic that still really sticks in his craw: 11 interceptions.
“My first goal, obviously, is to win more ballgames,” he smiled, “but individually, for me, I need to reduce my turnovers. That has been my biggest point of emphasis since last season. I think I’ve done pretty good with that so far.
“If I can have a better touchdown to interception ratio we will be a very good offense.”
Jaxson didn’t throw as many interceptions as some may believe – just 8 in 12 regular season games. There were 3 in the bowl game, but 8 in 12 games isn’t terrible, except to him.
“In high school, I threw for 67 touchdowns and only had 4 interceptions,” he stated. “Taking care of the ball is something that is very important to me. For Coach (Lane) Kiffin, that is the biggest thing to him for a quarterback. It’s not even me turning the ball over a lot – it’s more about the situations in which the turnovers happen.
“When the game is on the line, you have to come through and take care of the ball at all costs. Turnovers shift momentum and momentum is important. I just have to do better. That’s all.”
Dart is happy with the weapons he has to work with this season.
He’s especially encourage by the off-season additions after Ole Miss lost its top two receivers in Malik Heath and Jonthan Mingo from a year ago.
“When you lost guys like Malik and Mingo, you wonder what’s going to happen moving forward – who will replace them?” he asked. “It was good to see the coaches bring in some good transfers like Tre Harris, Zakhari (Franklin) and sign freshman Ayden Williams. Even (Tight End) Caden Prieskorn, all those guys will change our offense in a bunch of different ways.
“I feel like we reloaded. Obviously, replacing Malik and Mingo and what they did will be hard, but returning guys like Jordan Watkins and Dayton Wade and Michael (Trigg) and a couple of more, combined with the new faces, we can have a big year.”
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart
Dart was also quick to point out the importance of Quinshon Judkins.
Judkins, back for his sophomore season, was the SEC’s leading rusher in 2022. He set a new single-season school record for rushing yards.
“Anytime you have a back like Quinshon, it makes everything easier in the passing game because defenses have to think about stopping the run first and with Judkins, that’s a tall task,” Dart, who also rushed for over 600 yards in his first year as a Rebel, said.
The experience up front on the offensive line gives Dart confidence in the offense as a whole.
“We have as many as eight guys who have played a lot of football is critical to the offense. I watched the O-line in the summer develop a bond and all get on the same page,” he explained. “It was cool to watch that. To see guys like (Victor) Curne come in and fit right in and to see the others play at such a high level is really exciting to us.”
Dart is in a battle with veteran QB Spencer Sanders. Sanders is a transfer with four years of starting experience at Oklahoma State under his belt.
Unlike last spring, Sanders’ shoulder is healthy now and he’s throwing the ball with authority through a couple of fall camp practices.
Dart, however, has taken the majority of snaps with the number one offense and has done well.
His experience from last season is showing up in practice with better decision-making and in his efforts to take care of the football.
That’s a good start to 2023.
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