Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart’s future in Oxford may not be as certain as recently advertised.
While head coach Lane Kiffin announced that Dart would be a member of the Rebels’ football team for the 2024-2025 season, an ultimate decision has not yet been reached as to what the next step for the junior signal-caller will be.
Last Thursday, Kiffin, during his weekly appearance on RebTalk, broke the news that the Kaysville, Utah native and USC transfer would be back for his third season at Ole Miss.
“I guess I can kind of speak for him. He’s said he’s coming back, so we’re planning on him being back next year,” Kiffin said on the radio show.
Dart, on the other hand, clarified that he has not yet pledged to play a senior campaign at Ole Miss. Instead, he plans to finish the remainder of the season before sitting down and weighing his options ahead of a final commitment.
“To be honest, I haven’t really decided yet. He said that to kind of put ‘positive vibes’ out in the air,” Dart said following Ole Miss’ 35-3 win over Louisiana Monroe. “I’m still gonna go through this year. I’m not really focused on making that decision as of right now. We’ve got a lot of ball left to play, and once everything’s over, I’ll make that decision.”
Kiffin also admitted that he regretted airing out a closed-door conversation with Dart and reiterated that the quarterback would be the first to inform the public of his intentions to either continue his college career or explore new horizons at the professional level.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that. That was a conversation between me and him and I kind of got caught off guard in saying that,” Kiffin said. “I made sure right when I left the radio show that I said that to him because it’s not really my position to say. When he’s ready to talk to you guys about that, he will.”
In his two years at Ole Miss, Dart has thrown for 5,863 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He is one of 20 quarterbacks named as semifinalists nationally for the Davey O’Brien Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best college signal-caller.
Next up for the Rebels is a battle against Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl rivalry between the two programs. Though the prospect of Dart returning in an Ole Miss uniform next season is hanging in the balance, the junior quarterback is 100 percent dialed in on his upcoming opponent.
“It’s a game that I really want back and I know the guys on the team feel the exact same way about it,” Dart said. “We can’t wait for the opportunity to play them.”
The Egg Bowl will kick off at Davis Wade Stadium on Thanksgiving at 6:30 p.m. CT. Thursday’s match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and can be heard on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
