


Brandon jokingly referred to it as "speed dating."īrandon was actually out of town on a mule hunting trip in Mexico and without cell service for extended periods of time when his son officially entered the portal. For someone who wasn't the biggest recruit for most of his life, being a hot commodity like this was a bit odd. Within a couple hours of entering his name into the portal, Jaxson heard from 40 or so schools, Brandon said. "(He said) I'm here to be a Trojan quarterback, these are my guys, this is my locker room.
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It really just came down to a situation where we felt like things were out of control, out of our hands, just with the changes that have been made with the free transfer," Brandon said. But when it became increasingly apparent it would not, Jaxson entered his name into the portal. And there was always that hope in the back of his mind that things would work out for him at USC, Brandon said. Jaxson was all in on USC - it took some prying to get him to consider entering his name into the transfer portal. Caleb Williams, who starred for Riley as a fellow true freshman in 2021, entered the transfer portal and instantly fueled speculation that he would reunite with his former coach. With college football being the way it is currently, that also led to rumors of a new quarterback being brought in. A coaching change occurred, however, with Okahoma's Lincoln Riley taking the reins of the program. Jaxson threw for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions as a true freshman and looked to be the next star signal caller in Los Angeles. he connects with people on a very deep level."
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And Jaxson was about as good an example as anyone of how to maintain that balance. There's a delicate balance between being a competitor and a good teammate.

He was also good friends with Miller Moss, a fellow four-star quarterback from the Los Angeles area who came in the same year to compete with him. "That guy is there to gut you like a fish," Brandon said.īut Jaxson ever let it impact his relationships - Slovis was one of his best friends despite wanting the starting job more than anything. He told Brandon he wasn't competing to be the backup, even though he knew it was going to happen. Through the spring (he enrolled early at USC) and the summer, Jaxson truly felt he was the best quarterback on-campus. He was in a bit of a timeshare with Slovis for a few games before starting the final three games of the season. He injured his meniscus, however, and missed the next six weeks or so. Despite being named the backup to incumbent Kedon Slovis, Dart was thrown into action in September when Slovis went down with an injury and was stellar, throwing for 391 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Washington State. Jaxson signed with USC and proved an instant sparkplug with the Trojans. Jaxson had a late rise in recruiting after transferring high schools and dropping baseball, which occurred more due to COVID cancelations than anything. He was a three-sport athlete growing up, and if Brandon is being honest, baseball might be his son's best sport. He was not always a prized recruit, though. The younger Dart - the oldest of four children - held nearly every accolade imaginable as a high school senior - He was Gatorade's and MaxPreps' National Player of the Year in 2020 after throwing for 4,691 yards and 67 touchdowns with an additional 1,195 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing as a senior at Utah's Corner Canyon High School. He's not here to be depth he's here to play ball. "Jaxson is a miserable soul if he's not playing. Get him between the numbers, however, and it's a whole different can of worms. Despite being just 18-years-old now, Jaxson is an old soul.
