Alongside head coach Lane Kiffin, three of Ole Miss’ top players took the stage at SEC Media Days in Dallas, Texas, on Monday.
The three – quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, and defensive end Jared Ivey – were chosen by Kiffin for not only playing well up to this point in their college careers but for showing leadership abilities on and off the field.
Below is a short recap of what each said.
QB Jaxson Dart
Throughout the day, Dart wanted to talk more about his teammates than himself – the sign of a true leader – but was still softly pressed on topics such as being a preseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy and his progression since transferring from USC to Ole Miss.
While he did a good job of brushing those questions off and providing political answers, the Utah native did a better job of conveying the work his team has put in this offseason. One position group, in particular, the fourth-year signal-caller highlighted was the wide receiver corps – including Harris, Jordan Watkins, Antwane “Juice” Wells, and Cayden Lee, among others.
“These guys playing with me have worked so hard this offseason. I’m extremely excited for this unit,” Dart said. “Bringing in a few transfer portal guys and a few returning, I think we have a lot of depth here. I have great people around me and ultimately see the vision of this program.”
Dart has worked hand-in-hand with Kiffin, who he referred to as “the best offensive mind in college football,” to improve his on-the-field production. In his first season in Oxford, in 2022, he threw for 2,974 yards (62.4 CMP%) and 20 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. In 2023, he did a much better job protecting the ball, throwing only five interceptions along with 3,364 yards (65.1 CMP%) and 23 touchdowns. The rising senior added eight touchdowns on the ground and did not force the run as much.
WR Tre Harris
In his first season in Oxford after transferring from Louisiana Tech, Harris quickly proved that he could play in the SEC just as well as he did in the Conference USA – actually better, going by the stat sheet. In his first game as a Rebel, Harris broke a school record with four touchdowns. He ended the year with a team-high 985 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
While Dart had a lot to say about Harris, Harris also had a lot to say about Dart. In one of his media appearances, Harris said his relationship with Dart is like no other and called Dart “a friend for life.” The two have spent much of the summer together, training and traveling to and for Los Angeles together.
“Our relationship is stronger than ever since transferring to Ole Miss,” Harris said. “One thing I’ll always take from Jaxson is his incredible work ethic, going through all of his progressions and concepts, it gets better every day.”
Harris, like his teammates, knows the expectations are high for Ole Miss this season. Expected to be a preseason top-ten team, many have the Rebels predicted to crack the program’s first College Football Playoff as it now expands from four to 12 teams.
“We understand there’s expectations for us, but at the end of the day, we all know that the end goal is to get better every single day,” Harris said. “And if we’re able to do that, once it starts to get toward the back end of the season, things are going to turn out the way you want them to turn out.”
DE Jared Ivey
The Rebel defense – ranked No. 68 in 2023 in comparison to the offense’s No. 12 ranking – will look to be the key to making the College Football Playoff in 2024.
Ivey, going into the season listed by multiple publications as a potential top 25 draft pick, said the front seven has improved tremendously over the offseason – with the additions of edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr., and defensive tackle Walter Nolen, among others.
“I think we have a few guys coming in that fit our culture and schematically Coach [Pete Golding] and Coach Joyner do a great job of making a complex defense simple,” Ivey said.
The big man, who had 28 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2023, added that much of spring camp was cleaning up mental errors and plans for that to continue throughout the rest of the summer.
“I think we’ll clean up a lot of the mental errors we had last year,” Ivey said when comparing last year’s defensive unit to this year’s.
The Ole Miss football team will begin the 2024 campaign at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on Aug. 31 against Furman. Game two, on Sept. 14, will be against Wake Forest before the first SEC contest of the year, against Kentucky, takes place on Sept. 28. The full schedule can be found here.
What’s next for SEC Media Days?
All times below are central.
On Tuesday, four more teams will take the stage: Georgia (9:05 a.m.), Tennessee (10:45 a.m.), Oklahoma (12:50 p.m.), and Missouri (2:20 p.m.).
On Wednesday, Alabama will start day three at 9:05 a.m. before Mississippi State along with first-year head coach Jeff Lebby gets started at 10:35 a.m. The Bulldog players attending this year’s event are Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen, offensive lineman Albert Reese IV, and linebacker John Lewis. After Mississippi State, Florida (12:50 p.m.) and Texas (2:20 p.m.) will round out the second quartet.
Thursday’s schedule features Arkansas (9:35 a.m.), Texas A&M (11:05 a.m.), Auburn (1:05 p.m.), and Kentucky (2:25 p.m.). SEC Media Days will continue to be broadcast nationally on SEC Network and stream on the ESPN app.
J.T. Mitchell contributed to this report.
