Jaxson Dart can’t avoid reminders his days as an Ole Miss Rebel are coming to an end

Jaxson Dart is surrounded by daily reminders his Ole Miss career is quickly coming to an end.

The Rebels are now practicing for the Gator Bowl matchup against Duke. Kickoff in Jacksonville, Florida, is set for January 2, 2025. The Rebels would secure their third 10-win season in four years with a win.

Every meaningful Ole Miss contributor except for linebacker Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul has committed to playing in the game. Even Walter Nolen and Trey Amos, a pair of projected first-round selections in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dart’s trying to live in the moment and soak it all in best he can. But the disastrous college football calendar has complicated his send-off.

“It’s kind of a weird situation because we have so many guys that are leaving and then you see all these recruits coming in,” Dart said.

“We’re just trying to take in all the time we have left together, honestly. We’re having a lot of fun at practice. We know the days are counting down. I know especially for me you want to make the most of the time you have with each other.

“We’re just having a lot of fun and trying to take in and live in the moment.”

Ole Miss is doing the best it can with the roster balancing act the NCAA refuses to fix.

The Rebels are thriving, too. They’ve already signed eight transfers, the latest being Oklahoma State wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling.

But it’s an awkward situation. In less than a month one of the greatest Ole Miss Rebels to ever done the uniform, Dart, will be gone. All the attention of the next few weeks should be on his legacy, as well as those of Jared Ivey, JJ Pegues, Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and others.

Unfortunately, the calendar’s the calendar. Dart and so many of his soon-to-be-former teammates have to make room for their replacements, even before the moving trucks have arrived.

He has to watch as his backup and assumed successor, Austin Simmons, helps build out the next Ole Miss playoff contender.

“I’m not really involved right now with that stuff,” Dart said. “But he’s doing a great job, obviously. They’ve got a few recruits coming. He’s done a really good job. He kind of tells me some of the guys he’s reaching out to and talking to. They’re going to do a really good job in this portal period.”

Dart’s a one-time transfer from USC.

Ole Miss has had a Top 3 transfer class each of the last three years. The Rebels currently boast the No. 1 class in the country, according to On3.

Dart played an outsized role in the Rebels’ recruiting efforts the last three years. Last season he was directly involved in helping to bring Diego Pounds, Juice Wells and Princely Umanmielen to Oxford.

Now he’s a bystander as the torch is being passed. But the Rebels’ success without him isn’t surprising. Lane Kiffin has developed his ‘Portal King’ reputation for a reason.

“I just think because he’s real and he’s honest,” Dart said. “There’s a lot of coaches that are not that way in the portal. You kind of see the product that he puts out there on the field. I really like what he did with Matt Corral, especially him being a West Coast kid. I felt like I could relate to that a little bit, and then coach having a ton of experience coaching on the West Coast and having connections and whatnot.

“We clicked early. He had a good vision for me and what I could achieve here. It’s something I bought into really early. Our connection early was the main piece for me coming here.”

Dart can’t avoid the signs of his Ole Miss end.

They’re everywhere — recruiting, the upcoming NFL Draft process, etc.

So, he’s keeping it simple. Everything else can wait. Jaxson Dart just wants to win one more Ole Miss football game.

“I’m not too worried about that right now,” Dart said. “I’m just worried about playing this last game. That stuff is going to be fine and take care of itself. I’m just excited to go out one last time with the guys. Go chase another victory (and) get to 10 wins and just have a lot of fun doing it.”

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