Will Dart put on a show against Duke?
Bowl Season continues tonight with (14) Ole Miss hosting Duke in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
The New York Giants are in obvious need of a quarterback for 2025 — and hopefully beyond — and this game will feature one of their top options in Jaxson Dart.
The Ole Miss quarterback is going to be a polarizing player. He boasts impressive production this year (3,875 yards, 25 touchdowns, 6 interceptions), but there will be concerns as to whether he was the product of his environment or if he can make the leap to the NFL.
Ole Miss has a number of future NFL players on their roster, so this will be a good game to watch for several positions.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – (14) Ole Miss vs. Duke
ESPN – 8:00 p.m.
Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart (QB)
We know that the Giants have expressed interest in Dart this year. They were, reportedly, interested enough to send executives to scout him personally. We don’t know whether their interest has waned, or just how high on him they are. But the fact that they were interested in him means we should give him a good, close look.
Dart has a dense build at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, and he mixes very good arm talent with good athleticism. Neither his arm nor his wheels are “elite” on the order of Josh Allen, but certainly more than adequate for pretty much any NFL offense. Dart is one of the most daring quarterbacks in the draft and consistently looks to throw the ball down the field. He leads FBS in yards on deep passes and his average depth of target was 12.2 yards downfield. His 76.5 adjusted completion percentage is also impressive given his average depth of target.
Dart has been highly prolific over the last three years in Lane Kiffin’s offense at Ole Miss, and got off to a blistering pace this year. He was matching Jayden Daniels 2023 season in many metrics and his name is beside both Archie and Eli Manning in the Ole Miss record books. He’s also highly regarded for his toughness and humility. He returned to Ole Miss’ game against Georgia after suffering an ankle injury and played through the injury despite it obviously hindering him. He also took blame for the team missing the College Football Playoffs, apologizing publicly for his mistakes at the end of the season.
He also wasn’t able to sustain his high production against better opponents later in the year. There are fair questions as to how he’ll translate to the NFL and how much his game will suffer after leaving Kiffin’s offense. Dart is willing to risk hits and had a high pressure to sack rate of 19.2 percent, suggesting he takes too many unnecessary sacks.
Dart could be fascinating to follow over the course of the draft process. His traits will almost certainly win him fans in coaching staffs and front offices, but teams could be concerned with respect to whether he can make the jump from college to the NFL.
Princely Umanmeilen (EDGE)
Umanmeilen joined the Rebels before the 2024 season, transferring from Florida.
He has a prototypical physique for a modern edge defender at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and has the versatility to play out of a 2 and 3-point stance. He was a constant presence behind the line of scrimmage for the Ole Miss defense, racking up 10.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss this year. He’s an impressive athlete who can fire into the backfield and win in a variety of ways. He has enough strength to take on blockers directly, blow past them with athleticism, or force whiffs by altering his tempo.
Umanmeilen boasts impressive toughness, producing this year despite surgery in the spring to repair a torn labrum and a foot injury which cost him two games. He still needs development as a run defender, but he could be an option for a team that’s looking for a designated pass rusher who could grow into an every-down player.
Duke
Chandler Rivers (CB)
Rivers isn’t getting much recognition in the media, but he was voted First Team All ACC in 2024. He’s an undersized corner who could be viewed as a “slot only” player by the NFL at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. But while he isn’t getting much buzz (yet), he could turn heads over the course of the draft process. Rivers may be undersized, but he’s a quick, twitchy athlete with a good football IQ and instincts. He has good awareness in zone coverage and a knack for slamming receiving windows shut with his closing burst. Rivers has had 16 passes defensed over the last two seasons, as well as four interceptions — two of which he returned for touchdowns.
