QB Jaxson Dart explains why he left USC, chose Ole Miss from the transfer portal

OXFORD — Jaxson Dart had to leave Los Angeles to finally get the Hollywood experience.

To put things in showbiz terms, Dart is auditioning for the role of Ole Miss' starting quarterback during spring practice. A sophomore transfer from USC by way of Kaysville, Utah, Dart came to Ole Miss from tinsel town and was immediately struck by his newfound celebrity.

"When me and (fellow USC transfer Michael Trigg) came on our visit, we walked into a little restaurant with our families," Dart said Thursday. "The amount of people who came up to us and knew who we were, we were just on a visit. The students weren't even in school at the time. I thought that was really cool. I just love the support and how involved people are here. It's really cool."

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Of course, love and support aren't the only reasons Dart transferred. He said the decision to leave USC was tough because of the relationships he'd built there. But after coach Clay Helton was fired after the season and was replaced with former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who brought his quarterback Caleb Williams with him, Dart made the decision he felt was best for him.

Among his many suitors, Ole Miss stood out for a couple reasons. There's the offensive style. Dart said he's intrigued by coach Lane Kiffin's tempo offense and how quarterback friendly the schemes are. There's Kiffin's track record developing quarterbacks and the allure of playing for a program he perceives to be on the way up.

And maybe most importantly, Dart thinks playing in the SEC best enables him to fulfill his NFL dreams.

"There are some games in some conferences when you can just have better athletes than another team and you can just outplay them because you have better athletes," Dart said. "With this it's more about scheme and you have to schematically beat them and you have to be smarter than them because they have just as good of players as you do."

Before Dart can get to the NFL, he has to beat out fellow sophomore Luke Altmyer. This is well-worn territory for Dart. He arrived at USC a year ago as part of a recruiting class where the Trojans also signed four-star quarterback Miller Moss.

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Dart and Moss were both behind upperclassman Kedon Slovis on the depth chart, but when Slovis was hurt early in the season, it was Dart who won the job to replace him.

It was short-lived. Dart hurt his knee in his first start and missed the following four games. But he won the starting job back for the final five games. Amid the circus of USC's coaching search, Dart threw for 1,353 yards and nine touchdowns across six games.

Not that Dart thinks the game film shows what he can do.

"I felt like last year I only got to have half of a quarter where I was actually really healthy and show what I'm capable of," Dart said. "I hurt my knee against Washington State and even when I came back I wasn't 100%. There are some things with my legs that I wasn't really even able to showcase."

Dart said he's really focused on shoring up his footwork. He's becoming more comfortable with Kiffin's scheme and learning the playbook experientially in practice. He said new quarterbacks coach Charlie Weis Jr. has helped him with that load, teaching him how to view offenses from a defensive perspective and installing plays before practices began to let practices move more smoothly.

With all the twists and turns Dart's journey has taken, it's easy to forget he won't turn 19 until after spring practices end. Dart tries to keep that perspective in mind while competing for the future he wants.

"I keep reflecting on it. If you would've told me that my first year of college would've turned out this way, I would've told you you were crazy. It's been quite a whirlwind but I'm thankful for where I'm at."

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jaxson Dart explains why he left USC, transferred to Ole Miss football