Jaxson Dart Can’t Wait to Play for Giants Head Coach John Harbaugh

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is getting his first real taste of a Super Bowl atmosphere this week out in San Francisco, where the game is slated to be played at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

The only thing is that the sample Dart is currently getting isn’t quite what he would have preferred, since the Giants aren't in the big game.

Dart, who instead has been making the rounds on Radio Row, is hoping that this time next year, he will instead be knee-deep in preparation for the Big Game, and to that end, he can’t wait to get started working with new head coach John Harbaugh.

“I can't wait to play under that with him and, and get out there and, and get competing,” Dart said during a spot for Fantasy Football Hour, NFL on NBC.

“I think that he sees a great vision here in New York with the team and the people that we have within the organization. And he's gonna guide us to make sure that we take the right steps moving forward and be as successful as we can be.”

Dart and Harbaugh famously hit it off when the head coach came into East Rutherford for his formal interview last month. The two men had a chance encounter that turned into a nearly two-hour conversation about ball, leaving both impressed with each other.

“It was just great to have those conversations even before he got the job,” Dart said. “You know, kind of just how he views competition, the relentless atmosphere and culture that he builds and breeds with his team.”

Dart, who by all accounts had a successful rookie campaign despite the team’s record, credited veterans Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson for being there to help him as he acclimated not just to life in the NFL, but in having to do so without receiver Malik Nabers, who was injured midway through Dart’s first career NFL start back in Week 4.

With Nabers expected back from his torn ACL, Dart can’t wait to get to work on building a rapport on the field with the receiver.

“I think he is the best receiver in the league,” Dart said. “Anytime you see a player like Malik, but just like a friend and a person like him go down … that takes away the game and the thing that you love, it's really hard to go through.”

Speaking of having the game taken away, Dart had that as well, albeit for two games, due to a mid-year concussion.

Despite his injury, which many blamed on his aggressiveness in running with the ball, which leads to recklessness, Dart, as he has done almost from the first moment he arrived in East Rutherford, insisted that he’s not going to shy away from contact.

“I've played a certain way my whole life, right? And it's gotten me to this point in my career. So I think it would kind of be foolish for me to just be like, ‘Hey, I'm gonna change myself and play like a pocket passer, or play completely different.’

“Yeah, I took some hits for sure, and there's definitely moments where you're like, ‘All right, I gotta be smarter in this situation.’ I think that's just a maturing thing and continuing to grow.

“But at the same time, people are gonna take hits. There are a lot of quarterbacks who've taken a lot of big hits that people weren't talking about in the media. And it was kind of just a narrative that got out about me.”

So, again, don’t expect him to change all that much other than to maybe continue to focus on making smart decisions on when to take a hit and when to call it a day.

“I've played big-time football for four or five years, and I've missed two games,” he said. “When you look at it from an availability standpoint, I'm out there for my team, and I'm somebody that you can count on.

“Definitely just continue to be smart in situations, but when there's a crucial moment or a time where our team needs to make a play, I'm gonna make sure that I give it my all.”

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