Jaxson Dart has apparently been making quite the impression everywhere he's gone. Long before Lane Kiffin was hyping him up on a New York Giants podcast, Dart was showing up for the 64,000 at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, with highlight reel throws and electric playmaking.
He's Ole Miss' all-time leader in passing yards (10,617) and wins (28), and is second all-time in touchdowns (72). Impressive might actually be underselling it.
Even with all the college success, his billing as a first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft forced some debates. Many viewed Dart as a high-second-round pick, while others viewed the 22-year-old as a top-15 pick. Regardless, Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll liked him enough to trade back into the first round and select him with the 25th pick.
Since being drafted, all the rookie has done is... impress. He performed well at OTAs, he threw an absolute missile to a buddy on a jet ski, and he fully embraced life in New York City with his Knicks championship prediction. While his early rise might surprise some, his former coach, Lane Kiffin, has been reading the tea leaves all along and isn’t the least bit shocked by how quickly he’s turning heads.
Lane Kiffin saw this coming from a mile away
In a recent interview on the Giants Huddle podcast, Kiffin couldn't help himself when singing the praises of Dart:
"He really is a quick learner, really can see everything and can chunk information," the Ole Miss head coach said about his former QB. "And if he is struggling with something, he's going to find a way. He's going to stay after. He's going to do whatever it takes."
Kiffin referenced Dart’s ability to “chunk information”—a skill that’s more valuable than it might sound. It's a learning strategy where information is grouped into larger, more meaningful bits to improve understanding and recall. It helps simplify complex tasks—like mastering a playbook or processing in-game communication—by reducing mental overload and boosting efficiency.
But it's not just about his ability to process information—it runs much deeper than that. Kiffin points to Dart's leadership qualities and his charisma as driving factors of his success:
"He has an amazing impact on people – offense, defense, special teams, media, coaches' kids. He's just a really great person. ... He doesn't come in and just try to force it on them. [He leads] by example, and he's a great listener to players. He spends and invests a lot of time with them."
Way to essentially lay out the blueprint for becoming the perfect teammate, Lane. But whether you think this is lip service or not, the Ole Miss coach isn't one to shy away from saying his true feelings. This seems genuine and not a coach hyping up a former player for the sake of it.
One last parting thought from Kiffin brings Dart's impressive tendencies full circle: "He's really got the complete package."
That's quite the praise. It's not every day someone has it all. But the Giants and their fans sure hope he's the complete package. Since Eli Manning, this team has been looking for its rightful heir. It’s only fitting the next chapter starts with another Oxford lad under center.