Jaxson Dart never wanted to leave USC, but he’s made his mark shaking up the SEC at Ole Miss

The eye black temporarily painted above and below the right eye of Jaxson Dart every weekend is drawn on to simulate a scar. Scars heal after the pain previously inflicted eventually seals shut. But they remain nonetheless. Dart’s ceremonial tribute is to “Star Wars” protagonist-turned-antagonist Anakin Skywalker, who in his younger years, suffers a slice on the right side of his face in a lightsaber battle.

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The look resonated with Dart way back when he was too young to drive a car but good enough to be a starter on his high school football team in suburban Salt Lake City and blossomed into a highly sought-after recruit during the peak portions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Years later, after assuming the starting role at USC as a freshman and now leading No. 9 Ole Miss (8-1) against two-time defending national champion No. 2 Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga., the symbolism of the eye black has proven prescient.

There were scars to come for Dart. The only way to work through the shock was to embrace it. While the junior has evolved into one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in college football in Oxford, Miss., the shaggy-haired blond who wears puka shell necklaces never could’ve imagined ending up in Rebels red and blue in the thick of a drive to upset the established order of the SEC elite.

Dart, who absolutely looks the part of a USC beach-going quarterback, loved Los Angeles. He never wanted to leave. In September 2021, he took over for an injured Kedon Slovis in a game at Washington State and had 391 yards in his debut, a USC record for passing yards by a quarterback in their debut for the Trojans. In what turned out to be an otherwise disastrous season, Clay Helton’s last at the helm, Dart provided a light when things around The Coliseum went dark. With a rebuild on the horizon, Dart wanted to be at the forefront of reviving a dormant power.

“The thing is,” said Brandon Dart, Jaxson’s father, “it’s a story you can tell over and over again with other kids who are in similar situations.”

Highest Graded SEC QB in Week 10 🎯@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 7, 2023

On Nov. 28, 2021, an earthquake rattled Southern California. Seismographs stood still, but the ground beneath college football shook intensely with the news that Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was bolting for USC. Speculation swirled about who would become QB1 for the renowned QB whisperer, who had coached three recent Heisman Trophy winners. Caleb Williams went to Oklahoma to be coached by Riley, and with the advent of the NCAA transfer portal allowing players to transfer freely, it was assumed that the young star would land in Hollywood with his former head coach.

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After his hiring, Riley had multiple conversations with Dart about the plans for the position. As the weeks wore on during the 2021 holiday season, it became clear that Williams was inbound.

“He’s a stalwart when it comes to not letting emotions dictate decisions,” Brandon Dart said of his son. “He wanted to make sure he had everything out on the table before he made his decision. He didn’t want to leave. That was the first year of the portal process, so there were a lot of unknowns and things we had to navigate. It was very emotional for the simple fact he loved his teammates, loved his school, just loved everything about it.”

On Jan. 3, 2022, Williams entered the portal.

A week later, Dart followed.

“Me just hanging on to what happened and how things unfolded there, it was going to do no good for me moving forward to hold grudges against people,” Jaxson said this week. “College football has so much movement involved. The biggest thing that I took away from that experience was just trying to focus on myself and put myself in the best situation to move forward.”

The Darts visited three schools in the weeks after Jaxson entered the portal: Oklahoma, BYU and Ole Miss. Dart didn’t know much if anything about the Deep South. In fact, he first had to look up exactly where Mississippi was located on a map. Dart grew up in Utah but grew accustomed to beach visits in Los Angeles and the diversity of the restaurant scene.

In Oxford?

Well, if you’re looking for the polar opposite of L.A., it’s the home of Ole Miss. Did it take some getting used to? Of course. But Dart didn’t choose his next stop for the foodie scene. He chose it because coach Lane Kiffin, who consulted with his friend Helton while looking at Dart, sold him on the prospect of being a potential starter in the fast-paced offense he was constructing. Kiffin was Dart’s primary recruiter when he was in the portal, but after Dart announced his commitment to Ole Miss on Jan. 29, 2022, it took time getting used to playing for Kiffin when he arrived on campus.

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Kiffin took a hands-off approach, which was counter to what he was like during the recruiting process. He wanted to see if Dart could come in, assimilate, learn the intricacies of his offense and emerge through the fog on the other side as the quarterback he thought he could be. Despite Dart winning the starting job for the 2022 season, it wasn’t until earlier this year that Kiffin and Dart established a kinship off the field.

“Coach Kiff wants to figure out his quarterbacks and who they really are before going all-in,” Jaxson said.

Last season, as Williams won the Heisman Trophy at USC, Dart started in 12 of 13 games for the Rebels, going 226-of-362 passing for 2,974 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Ole Miss started 8-1 but lost four games in a row to end the season.

This fall, Dart and Kiffin have helped guide the Rebels to the precipice of this potentially program-defining weekend on the road against the vaunted Bulldogs. Dart has thrown for 2,467 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Dart ranks ninth nationwide in overall pass efficiency. Ole Miss’ lone blemish is a 24-10 loss at Alabama in late September.

“He puts his team above himself first,” Kiffin said this week. “I know players really respect that a lot.”

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Beyond his stellar play, he’s carved out a special spot in the heart of the Ole Miss fan base by exuding his confident personality. Many college football coaches seem to prefer quarterbacks to be robotic and not venture beyond the company line. Earlier this season, Dart sported a mustache that was met with mixed reviews from his parents. And Dart, like his head coach, doesn’t blink when given the opportunity to clap back.

After starring in the 38-35 win over Texas A&M last weekend, Dart and the Rebels had the last laugh after several Aggies trolled social media posts by the official team account the week prior.

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“I guess they don’t get enough attention from the games they’re losing,” Dart said in the postgame news conference.

Back in the raucous locker room, Dart, elated, was a little more blunt.

“I got one thing to say: Money don’t win you ballgames,” Dart said on Instagram Live, referring to Texas A&M’s top-ranked recruiting class in 2022 and the assumption it was tied to deep-pocketed boosters and NIL.

“I have always been pretty authentic to who I am,” Jaxson said. “I never wanted to be in a place that was going to force me to change the kind of person I am. I have a good ability to relate to many different people from many different backgrounds. Regardless of where I am, I’ll always be myself.”

In Oxford, Dart’s scars are healing. The Trojans are 7-3 and unranked. The Rebels enter the weekend with the chance to become the first team to beat Georgia in Athens since 2019. It’s the first top-10 meeting between the programs. And before he takes the field, like always, Dart will draw on his signature eye black.

 (Photo of Jaxson Dart: Justin Ford / Getty Images)