Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Receives High Praise From Analyst at Senior Bowl

Jaxson Dart has already been turning heads in Mobile this week.
Jan 28, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; American team quarterback Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (2) drops to pass during Senior Bowl practice for the American team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Jan 28, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; American team quarterback Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (2) drops to pass during Senior Bowl practice for the American team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart has drawn a lot of attention leading up to this weekend's Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and that trend continued on Wednesday.

It was then that football broadcaster Louis Riddick joined The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network to discuss Dart's progression during Senior Bowl practices this week. Needless to say, Riddick has been impressed, especially considering that NFL offenses carry a lot more "verbiage" than the one run at Ole Miss.

Even with this learning curve, Riddick says that Dart has shown "continual improvement" in this setting.

"Jaxson is talented enough to do all the things they ask him to do at the NFL level, and he has enough mental horsepower to be able to absorb all this information and use it in real time," Riddick said. "It's getting better and better and better.

"When it's clean, when he's sure what the call is, and everyone's doing their job, you see him do the kind of things you saw him do at Ole Miss and why he's the all-time passing leader in Ole Miss history."

The mental aspect of the game is just one adjustment that quarterbacks have to make when transitioning to the NFL, but what about the physical attributes? Can Dart's skillset translate to the pros?

Riddick thinks so.

"He can push the ball wherever you need him to, and he can do all the things that you need an NFL-caliber quarterback to do," Riddick said. "I expect that to continue to get better as the practices continue to stack upon themselves."

Dart threw for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns paired with just six interceptions this season, and he also led the SEC (third in FBS) with 329.2 passing yards per game while earning single-season Ole Miss records in total offense (4,774) and passing yards.

He leaves Ole Miss as the holder of multiple quarterbacking records, and he has been ranked as high as third on Mel Kiper's list of draft quarterbacks this offseason. The Senior Bowl will provide Dart with another opportunity to showcase his skills in front of NFL scouts and improve his already-rising draft stock.

The Senior Bowl is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, and it will be televised on NFL Network.


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John Macon Gillespie
JOHN MACON GILLESPIE

John Macon Gillespie is the publisher of The Grove Report and has experience on the Ole Miss beat spanning five years.