It’s pushing 90 degrees in Oxford as Ole Miss players fill a path toward Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. A sea of red and blue engulfs the Grove, but it isn’t difficult to spot Jaxson Dart: just follow the Saint Michael graffiti hoodie and Chrome Hearts shorts, and you’ll find the West Coast kid blending precision and flair, more than a thousand miles from home.
It’s September 30, 2023. In a few hours, Dart will sweat through his trademark streak of eyeblack while authoring a three-touchdown fourth quarter to help Hotty Toddy topple top-15 opponent LSU. In a few months, he’ll shred Penn State’s nation-leading defense on an injured left ankle, a 379-yard passing effort that caps the first 11-win season in school history. He’ll establish himself as a serious contender for the Heisman Trophy this season, and a likely early-round NFL Draft pick next year.
But none of this was preordained. Dart was lightly recruited out of Kaysville, Utah, until late his senior year and only made sporadic appearances in his freshman season at USC. Head coach Clay Helton was fired and replaced by Lincoln Riley, who brought Caleb Williams to Los Angeles. Dart ultimately transferred to Ole Miss, where snagged the keys to the Lamborghini scheme developed by Lane Kiffin, your offensive coordinator’s favorite offensive mind. With a lower-the-shoulder style that occasionally irks his mother, Dart has exploded onto the scene—and in a style befitting 2024 college football. In February, he signed an NIL deal with Oxford-based Nicholas Air, which gave him access to a fleet of private jets.
So the noise sweeping through the Sip is justified. This year will be Ole Miss’ most anticipated season in a half-century, since Archie Manning was piloting the Rebel offense. Nobody representing a Mississippi school has ever won the Heisman Trophy. Dart just might change that.
GQ: What has camp been like for your final season of college football?
Jaxson Dart: Man, it’s just all day, every day. We’re in the dog days right now, but the season is right around the corner.
I was thinking about what it might be like to see Jaxson Dart in, say, the 90s back when there was less of a catwalk aspect of entering the stadium, less of an emphasis on personality. Your dad was a college football player back then, but his experience was totally different.
Oh, no doubt. I think it’s kind of funny to watch it all evolve. Athletes are able to highlight some of the things that they like to do, and it kind of just shows a little bit of character, which I think brings a unique aspect to the sport.
You seem comfortable with fashion. Where does that come from?
I remember my first time coming to the South. I felt like every guy dressed the exact same:Khaki shorts, khaki pants, solid-color shirt. But I think the biggest thing for me is, you know, I’ve just grown up as a West Coast kid, a little more in tune with the fashion trends. My mom’s into it, and she’s done a great job of letting me choose and find things that I like and just giving me options. At the same time, it’s just something that I’ve come to really love and to express myself in different ways.
With her being so far away, do you still run any outfit selection by her? Or do you just hear from her after the game if something doesn’t hit?
Yeah, those conversations happened more frequently when I was back home, but we still talk about it here and there. A lot of times for pre-game walkouts and whatnot, I’ll give her a heads-up of what I’m thinking. And then if I have any questions, if I’m deciding between one fit or the other, I’ll reach out to her to get her opinion—if it’s too far out there or if it’s okay. I’ve relied on her for a lot of things in the fashion world. At the same time, I think she gives great input. She worked at Nordstrom growing up, so she’s always been a part of it.
Your coaches have a certain style with what they choose to wear, too. Do you have any advice for what they can do to elevate their look?
I don’t know if I would say that my coaches really have that much drip, to be honest. I feel like they’ve just been so ingrained into the football culture so they’re into the simple things, which is fine. But at the same time, I try to sneak in my little advice to Coach Kiff. Coach [Charlie] Weis is a little more open to some things, so we have fun with it. There are definitely a lot of times where, like for the LSU game and the Vanderbilt game, they teased me about my fits because they felt like it was a little too much. And I teased them back, saying, you know, you guys are the ones wearing Ole Miss gear, nothing special about it, just the gear they give us. So we have fun conversations about it. But if they would listen to me, I could help them out with their fashion.
You’ve spoken in the past about how the South and specifically the community of Oxford really embraced you. Can you talk a little bit about that transition from the West Coast?
It was definitely a transition, and it took me a little bit to get used to it. The biggest thing was being away from home, not being around my family as much. In California, it was only like an hour and a half flight, so my family could get there pretty frequently. It’s a lot harder to get out to Oxford. And the culture of the West Coast and the South are polar opposites: when you come to the South, it’s like everybody’s family, everybody’s cousins, everybody knows each other. At the same time, the lifestyle is a lot slower. But fortunately, there’s a great culture here. People are very welcoming and friendly, so they were able to take me in and accept me for who I am, which really helped me in my transition.
Has it been refreshing at all to not have to deal with transfers and quarterback competitions and coaching turnover this year?
Yeah, it’s been a great year so far. I’m in a new position that I haven’t really found myself in before. I found out early that the world of college football is hectic and there’s so much movement—I figured that out fast in my freshman year, when my head coach got fired in week two. So, I learned early on that there are so many things that are unpredictable, and you really have to control what you can control. I’ve really tried to elevate myself this offseason and take on new leadership roles, bringing the team as close together as possible and setting a culture that will really benefit us throughout the year..
One of those new roles is king of the transfer portal. Ole Miss signed the best transfer class in the country over the offseason, and you reportedly played a big role in that. Can you share a little bit about your secret ingredient?
I’ve always prioritized making relationships with people and being honest. With recruiting, there’s a lot of two-facedness, a lot of “he said, she said,” and people telling you one thing, but it doesn’t come true. I’ve taken the approach of trying to build relationships with people and getting to a point where we can trust each other. At that point, it becomes bigger than football. A lot of guys want to come here not just because of football, but because we want to play together and share the same vision. Another thing that’s helped is that I’ve been through it. I went through the portal process, so I know how things work and shared my knowledge with a lot of the guys we try to get. Our coaches did an amazing job, too, making sure we get the right people and recruit the right guys who fit the culture here.
It’s now standard practice in every Jaxson Dart interview to ask a question about the eye black. You were definitely early to the brand game. Can you walk me through how that plays into your pregame process?
I feel like it’s become a ritual for me. I usually go out for warm-ups without it, and then when we come back into the locker room before we head out to the field for kickoff, that’s when I put it on. I feel like it looks cool, but at the same time, it definitely makes me lock in and get mentally ready to go into whatever atmosphere it may be—and put on a show.
I’m always surprised by the plays that stick out in the minds of players. Is there a play in particular that sticks out to you as the quintessential Jaxson Dart play?
I I had to choose a game where I was able to be myself and exude a lot of the qualities that I have as a player, it would be the Penn State bowl game. I messed up my ankle real bad on the very first play of the game, and I’ve always taken pride in being one of the toughest guys out on the field. Being able to battle through that and have one of the best games of my college career, executing the offense really well against the nation’s number-one defense, and breaking a school record by winning 11 games—something that’s never been done here before. When I think of a moment, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.
I was re-watching the 2022 Tulsa game. The open drive is the Jaxson Dart special: You take off on the first two plays, lower your shoulder on both. The second carry, you take a totally unnecessary hit along the sideline. I have to imagine your parents or your coaches have encouraged you to take less punishment if given the option.
Honestly, when I’m on the field, I hate sliding. I hate just going down. I always like to give a little shoulder or do something to get a few extra yards. By the end of the season, my body really feels it. This year, I’m definitely going to be a lot smarter in that aspect. But my mom is definitely the hardest one about me sliding. When I’m walking through the Walk of Champions, I’ll go see her, give her a hug, and she’ll try to hype me up. But after every little interaction, she always reminds me to slide. That’s her go-to every single time. If she thinks I didn’t hear it when I walk away, she’ll make sure to scream it even louder [laughs].
A lot of things changed when you went from the Pac-12 to the SEC, but you also got a front-row seat to some of the greatest college football venues to play in: Jordan-Hare, Death Valley, Kyle Field. When you think back on some of the loudest venues you’ve played in, what memories come to mind?
I think the loudest moment I’ve had in college football was in the red zone against Texas A&M. The loudest game I’ve been a part of consistently throughout was in Athens. Jordan-Hare was unbelievable. Their fan base is wild, and there’s always something weird that happens there. Death Valley is a college football staple, one of the best stadiums in the country. It gets rocking, and I’m super excited to play there this season. I have a chance to redeem myself there, and it’s going to be a night game too, so it’s going to be absolutely electric.
You’ve done a good job this offseason of saying all the right things, taking it week by week. But you’re staring down the barrel of the most anticipated season in your program in half a century. I have to think there’s some weight with those expectations.
I’m really just excited. That’s the feeling I have about it. I love the anticipation, and I love the momentum this program has. I think it’s well-deserved and well-earned. But there are so many more things I want to chase and go after. We had a great year last year, and I say to the guys all the time, “We broke the school record with 11 wins and won a New Year’s Six Bowl, but our goal last year was to win the national championship, and we didn’t do that.” So, there are a lot of things I’m striving for this season, and I’m excited to embrace it all and take it in for my last year. The pressure is a good thing because if there was no pressure, you’d be doing something wrong. I’m just excited to be in this position and hopefully do something that hasn’t been done here in a very long time.
Everyone seems pretty high on the talent you guys have on the team this year. Some points have been made about how the guys look like they’re already ready to play on Sundays. I’m curious if that feels different when you’re walking around the weight room. Does it feel like you’ve got bigger guys on your team, or guys ready for Sundays compared to prior years? Or does it just feel like another year with some new talented teammates?
This is the first year where I can say that, from an eye test, we have it. The size we’ve gained for this season compared to the past is tremendous. From the offensive and defensive line, we’ve made tremendous leaps. Before you even play against them, you know they’re better just by looking at them. We’ve got a lot of playmakers on both sides of the ball, in the trenches, and from a size standpoint. We’re leaps ahead of where we were in previous years. But we still have to come together and find ways to execute. We’ve seen teams with a ton of preseason hype because of how well they recruited or because they have all these five stars, but they weren’t able to make it happen during the season and win games. We understand that just having a talented roster doesn’t make a team. The team is built off of our culture and how we buy into it.
It’s the nature of sports to look for a comp. Are there any guys on Sundays who remind you of you?
I’ve loved watching Jalen Hurts. I think we have similar skill sets and abilities in how we move. I think our body types are pretty similar. And he plays the game the right way. He’s a tremendous leader, and he finds ways to win and overcome adversity. Another one I’ve loved to watch is Josh Allen. His ability to extend plays and be a gunslinger—I love that part of his game. There are so many guys to watch, but if I had to pick two to model my game after, those are the first two that come to mind.
