'Portal Prince': How Jaxson Dart Helped Ole Miss Build A Contending Roster For 2024
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Lane Kiffin is nicknamed by most folks around college football circles as the 'Transfer Portal King.'
Perhaps Jaxson Dart's nickname should be the 'Portal Prince' since he served as a vital factor in helping Ole Miss build a roster worthy of national championship conversations.
"I actually don't know that I've seen over time a player actively recruit more to put together a team on both sides of the ball than Jaxson did this offseason," the fifth-year Rebels coach said Tuesday. "That says a lot about him. Says a lot about him as a leader, and I've even said, potentially, someday as a head coach if he wants to be, because he has really special qualities and one of them is to get people to follow him."
Dart is back for one more go-around in Oxford. He could have tested the NFL market, impressed at the combine last month in Indianapolis and potentially garnered first-round buzz entering April.
What else did the former USC transfer need to prove? Dart led the Rebels to their first 11-win season in program history. His four-touchdown performance in the Peach Bowl over Penn State secured a New Year's Six Bowl victory and top-10 finish in the AP Poll.
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Dart, who enters his third season, wants to win more than just a bowl game, so it's why he turned his attention to recruiting and re-recruiting players to come to The Grove. Jordan Watkins is back for what Dart proclaimed as 'The Last Dance.' So is Caden Prieskorn.
Running back Logan Diggs (LSU) and receiver Juice Wells (South Carolina) are also joining the franchise in what looks to be a lethal offense headlined by Kiffin, who admitted that several players likely wouldn't be on the roster without No. 2 being a No. 1 recruiter.
"I think a number of guys would say (Dart factored into their decision), especially offensively," Kiffin said. "I think that the receivers would tell you that, Juice Wells. And I think even, not just portal guys, but even the guys that came back, like Tre (Harris), like Prieskorn. I think they would tell you that he recruited them really well, too."
The Rebels are now Dart's team. Last season, Kiffin ensured that the Utah native earned the starting job, creating a competition between him, Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders, and LSU transfer Walker Howard.
He lived up to the challenge, tossing 23 touchdowns against five interceptions while tacking on eight more scores as a runner. He also posted career highs in completion rating (65.1 percent), passing yards (3,364), and passer efficiency (162.4).
Ole Miss reached new heights under Dart's watch. He wants to go further. The Rebels, who finished second in transfer portal rankings, have the talent to make it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. They have a roster capable of competing deep in an expanded College Football Playoff.
“I really just looked at it as the excitement surrounding the program,” Dart said after Tuesday’s practice. “We had just come off of doing something that’s never been done in school history. I saw the little pieces that had the potential coming back and, I think, just the more and more conversations that we had amongst each other as players, we saw the potential of what we could do and what the future looked like here.
"I’m just really happy that I made that decision, and I’m really happy for the pieces and the guys that came back to follow.”
Dart said the recruiting pitch had nothing to do with his spoken words but rather a look at the program's direction.
"I think it just comes down to people wanting to be a part of what we're building here," Dart said. "When you have that, it's pretty easy to talk to somebody and be like, 'Look, why wouldn't you come here? Why wouldn't you be a part of this? Why wouldn't you wanna come make history?' "
As for Kiffin's comment on being a future coach? It's a possibility, but first comes playing a few years at the highest level.
Of course, that comes after winning the College Football Playoff.
"I’m going to ride my career out as long as I can," said Dart. "But, yeah, we’ll see. It’s definitely appealing because I love the game and I love being a part of it."
