Jaxson Dart details the growth he's seen from his own game through this season

Jaxson Dart’s first season with Ole Miss started with a quarterback competition, meaning the former USC quarterback wasn’t guaranteed the starting job. By season’s end, he cemented himself as the Rebels’ QB1, and he seemed to get better as the year went on.

He saw that during film sessions, too.

“Going back, just watching the tape, I feel like I finished the year playing my best ball,” Dart said. “I was able to see the field and the whole game started to slow down a little bit from me. I was able to learn from my mistakes, I thought that I was really effective, really efficient with my eyes, my timing and all that stuff. Going to these last few practices, I feel like I’ve been on point. I’m just feeling comfortable. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Dart arrived in Oxford with plenty of hype, coming in as the No. 10-ranked player to enter the transfer portal during the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. He lived up to the billing, throwing for 2,163 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 548 yards to lead Ole Miss to an 8-4 record during the regular season.

Now, Dart’s getting ready for his first bowl game with the Rebels as they take on Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl Wednesday night, and he said it’s an opportunity to help lay the groundwork for next season. After all, there are potential portal targets out there, and the Texas Bowl could be a chance to boost the program’s recruiting profile.

“We have some guys that are going to be leaving us,” Dart said. “I think this is just a big boost to get us ready for next season. With some of the things that we need to fill with some of the spots from the transfer portal and those guys being able to watch us, I think that’s huge.

“Then, just building up our confidence, bouncing back from our last loss and how we finished out the season not on the right note. We want to really propel ourselves into next season with a lot of energy and a lot of excitement. We’re really taking that approach and taking it one step at a time because we know it’s really important.”

Ole Miss and Texas Tech are set to kick off the Texas Bowl Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.