How Good Can Ole Miss Be With Jaxson Dart?
The Transfer Portal has led to some wild storylines this offseason. Regardless of previous success, teams are shifting the culture without a high-school recruiting class. Proven players are finding new homes, and NIL deals are helping change the landscape of college football.
Jaxson Dart is an interesting case. When Lincoln Riley took the job at USC, many thought Dart would lead the way for the Trojans. After all, the freshman was talented enough to force Kedon Slovis out of town.
However, Riley is bringing his quarterback from Oklahoma, and Dart entered the portal. He decided to play for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. Ole Miss is replacing a potential QB1, and Dart is set to slide in as the team’s starter.
Dart is a big name, and he’s playing in a quarterback-friendly offense. What can we expect from the Rebels this year? Ole Miss has +5000 odds to win a national title, but there are other goals that are within reach.
What Dart Brings to the Table
Jaxson Dart is a raw talent at quarterback. Interceptions were a problem last year when you consider his limited reps, but he is still a solid quarterback with a high ceiling.
Dart’s arm is what sets him apart. Once he becomes an accurate quarterback, he will be one of the biggest threats in the SEC. He has the strength, but he needs to become a more precise thrower of the football.
Don’t discount Dart’s athleticism. He isn’t a mobile threat, but he can move within the pocket and run if he has to. He will never be a Lamar Jackson, but he can at least extend plays with his legs while scanning the field.
The beauty of this matchup is that Lane Kiffin knows how to shape an offense around a quarterback. He can run the ball heavily or use route concepts to get receivers open downfield. He will morph the system around Dart, and that will raise his ceiling over the next two years in Oxford.
However, the real question has nothing to do with Dart or Ole Miss. It’s all about the competition in the SEC.
Can Dart Beat Alabama?
When you join the SEC, you are asked to beat Nick Saban. It might not be a fair way to measure success, but it’s how the world works in college football. If you can’t upset the Crimson Tide, your ceiling is only so high.
So, can Jaxson Dart beat Alabama? At this point, the answer is no. The turnovers are too concerning, and he needs to work on his overall accuracy. However, this is before he’s worked with Kiffin. The ceiling is high enough to beat Alabama if everything goes right.
Kiffin will put Dart in a position to succeed. If he improves and executes, Ole Miss may upset Alabama at home.
The good news is that you only have to beat Alabama once. The Tide should win that matchup, but we won’t know until the season is here how likely an upset is. If the Rebels pull off that win, then we can talk about Dart’s Heisman hopes and the Rebels as SEC contenders. Until then, we need to cap expectations.
What Is This Team’s Ceiling With Jaxson Dart?
Ole Miss is losing offensive talent, but the addition of Dart raises the ceiling significantly. If the Rebels can upset the Tide at home, they should win the SEC West. The rest of the schedule is favorable.
Once again, Ole Miss’s season comes down to their ability to beat the Crimson Tide. That likely won’t happen, but they should be competitive in the rest of their games.
Besides that, we can expect the Rebels to have one of the best offenses in the country. Over the next two years, the Rebels should be in the second tier of SEC teams.
We’ll see if everything works out, but there is a reason why fans should be excited about Jaxson Dart joining the squad. At the very least, the Ole Miss Rebels will be fun to watch this upcoming college football season.
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