Ole Miss defense reciprocating Dart’s leadership style to have his back

Ole Miss senior quarterback Jaxson Dart wasn’t the unquestioned starter and leader of this team until about last season. Since, he’s significantly embraced the leadership role of the Ole Miss Rebels and has taken it to a whole different level for his final season of college ball. 

First, Dart started recruiting transfer players to Ole Miss last winter and would even go out of his way to meet them in or out of the facility during visits to hang out. A plethora of members from Ole Miss’ No. 1 overall transfer portal class attributed their transfer to Dart’s recruiting efforts that sold players on coming to a fun program, scoring lots of points while competing for a national championship in the process. 

Dart has also been a leader on the field, both by example and encouraging statements towards teammates. That’s at least what transfer linebacker Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul revealed last month.

“The thing that stands out to me is how much those guys embrace their roles, the O-line, and especially Dart,” Paul said. “We all know that Dart is a leader, but just watching him this camp really embrace that and get after it each and every day, not only leading the offensive players, but defensively. He’ll come to our sideline and give us encouraging words too. Watching those guys is exciting, and that’s why I’m so ready for the season to get started. I’m excited for those guys, happy for those guys, and I’m proud of the work that they’ve been putting in.”

But for Ole Miss’ leader, what players give him words of encouragement when something goes wrong for him? 

Those moments have been limited so far this year with how much success Dart and the Rebels are currently having, especially when it comes to taking care of the football. But that first moment of ‘adversity’ for Ole Miss’ starting quarterback came on his first interception thrown of the season, at Wake Forest.     

Head coach Lane Kiffin talked about how he ‘could just feel’ that situation coming, after Dart nearly went 200 consecutive throws without one. 

How was Dart’s first interception of the year handled player to player? 

“One of the best moments from yesterday was when Dart mistakenly threw his first interception…Then Dottery and Pooh ran over to him and said something…I’m thinking they said they would get it back, and Wake didn’t score. That’s a team,” Paul’s father, Christopher Paul Sr. wrote on social media.

Ole Miss’ starting quarterback also revealed what was said during the exchange, Sunday morning. 

“Told me, ‘We gon get you the ball right back!’,” Dart wrote in response to Paul Sr. 

Dart finished the game completing 26 of his 34 total pass attempts to go along with over 400 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. 

In the grand scheme of the Week 3 matchup, the interception didn’t lead to much. Dart led three more scoring drives, while the Rebels’ defense didn’t allow a point the rest of the game. 

What it does show is that the 2024 Ole Miss Rebels have a strong team bond that could be a factor when their schedule gets a little bit hotter. 

No. 5 Ole Miss (3-0) will host Georgia Southern (2-1) next week at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff between the Rebels and Eagles is set for 6:45 p.m. CT. Fans will be able to watch the televised broadcast on the SEC Network and can listen through the Ole Miss Radio Network. Ole Miss is currently favored by 36.5 points ahead of their Week 4 matchup. 

“It’s still kind of weird to me because I’m just so used to not ever talking to the quarterbacks in my past schools. The quarterbacks were always to themselves and only talked to the offensive guys. But Jaxson he talks to everyone, he’s involved with everyone,” starting transfer defensive end Princely  Umanmielen said this past offseason.