Lane Kiffin reacts to Jaxson Dart being named New York Giants starting QB

Lane Kiffin had a feeling that Jaxson Dart would start at QB for the New York Giants at some point this season. Perhaps that’s just intuition, but based on the way Ole Miss’ offense operates, Dart could be tailormade for the Giants as they look towards the future, within the present of course.

Dart was a highly productive quarterback under Kiffin while playing for Ole Miss. In fact, if Dart’s preseason was any indication, the Rebels’ offense got him ready for the last few years.

In a day of QB announcements, including Ole Miss starting Trinidad Chambliss for the third straight week, Kiffin was asked about his reaction to Dart getting the nod in New York.

“Yeah, our system really has a lot of NFL elements in it, offensively, for them, protections, routes, different runs and stuff, we just happen to go really fast,” Kiffin said on The Pat McAfee Show. “And I think over time, defensive coordinators have said that, including Coach Saban, that what Ole Miss does, what this system does, is it gives you problem plays, but goes really fast also, and so I think that’s helped our quarterbacks play really well. It’s awesome for Jaxson. Sounds like that’s an official announcement of a starter.”

The move to Dart comes after a disappointing 0-3 start to the season, led by veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. He passed for just 160 yards and two interceptions in Monday night’s 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, leading to head coach Brian Daboll making the move.

Quarterback play, which has been a struggle for the Giants since Eli Manning‘s last full season as a starter in 2018, has been a major factor in New York’s disappointing start to the season. The organization brought in the former All-Pro in Wilson this offseason as their starter, but he has thrown just three passing touchdowns to three interceptions through three games.

Dart excelled in the preseason, passing for 372 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He will now get his first chance to shine on Sunday against the Chargers, who have started the season 3-0 with wins against all three AFC West teams.

In his college career, which began at USC for one season in 2021, Dart consistently got better, including throwing for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. Throughout his college career, Dart passed for 11,970 yards, 81 touchdowns, 27 interceptions and a 65.2% completion percentage.