'Focused on the Bowl Game!' Rebels QB Jaxson Dart Hasn't Officially Made Decision on Return to Ole Miss
OXFORD -- The No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels are carrying a lot of momentum into their matchup in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions, and a lot of that centers on players electing to return to school for the 2024 season.
So far this month, the Rebels have officially earned pledges from names like Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins and Micah Pettus on the offensive side of the ball who plan to return for another year of eligibility in the college game. One name absent from that list? Quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin stated last month on the "Reb Talk" radio show that Dart was planning to return to Oxford next season. That weekend, however, Kiffin backtracked and stated that he was "caught off guard" by the question and should not have spoken for Dart on the subject.
"That was a conversation between me and him and I kind of got caught off guard," Kiffin said. "I made sure that when I left the radio show, I said that to him, because that's really not my position to really say. When he's ready to talk to you guys about that, he will."
Ole Miss Rebels QB Jaxson Dart
© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Dart was asked about the decision again on Wednesday, and he declined to answer, stating that he is strictly focused on the bowl game at hand.
"As of right now, I'm really just focused on the bowl game," Dart said. "We're going to take that decision as a family decision, and there's a time and place for that. Right now, I'm fully just focused on the bowl game and winning this game."
Whether or not Dart has made a decision and is waiting to announce it himself remains to be seen, but he did state that he takes news like the return of wideouts Harris and Watkins into consideration.
"It's huge," Dart said. "Those guys are going to be able to come back and make huge names for themselves, and it's really cool to see guys who have the opportunity to go to the league have a lot of fun being where they're at, wanting to run it back and make history here.
"It's a huge aspect of what I'm looking for. Definitely a factor. I think every single one of those guys are elite at their position, so it definitely plays a factor."
For now, Dart is focused on leading his team to its first 11-win season in program history, and in order to reach that goal, they will need to knock off Penn State on Dec. 30 in the Peach Bowl.
Kickoff from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is set for 11 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN.
