Giants' Jaxson Dart's high school football coach says rookie was 'just built to be a QB'
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 09: Jaxson Dart #2 of the Mississippi Rebels warms up before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Justin Ford
Eric Kjar remembered one of the first times he saw Jaxson Dart play after Dart transferred to Corner Canyon High School in Utah ahead of his senior year.
Dart was in a 7-on-7 tournament with Kjar’s son Noah at receiver. Dart’s team won, but Kjar was more impressed with how the quarterback immediately clicked with everyone and elevated their level of play.
“It was fun to watch him in those settings just be really competitive but then be awesome with his teammates,” said Kjar, head coach at Corner Canyon. “The competitiveness and the confidence was super-contagious with that group. They were pretty fun to watch.”
Five years later, those traits and Dart’s talents have the 22-year-old set for his first NFL start this Sunday with the Giants. His future starts now as he attempts to help turn around a team that’s not just 0-3 this season but 1-14 in its last 15 games.
Few expect Dart to be a miracle worker in his first Sunday service. If it happens, it adds to his early lore. If not, it’s the first building block of many to determine what type of starter he’ll be.
What matters, according to those who know him well, is that Dart is mentally ready for what’s coming, and that he has the confidence, poise and ability to command and earn respect.
Kjar spent only one season with Dart and knew right away something was different. Dart was the Gatorade National Player of the Year after throwing for 4,691 yards and 67 touchdowns and rushing for 1,195 yards and 12 scores in leading Corner Canyon to a state title.
During practices, Corner Canyon would have “compete periods” in which the first-team offense went full speed against the first-team defense. If Dart lost a period, he’d get so upset that Kjar would have to talk him down to get him refocused.
It showed how badly he wanted to win. Instead of his attitude getting his offensive teammates rattled, it inspired them to match his level of play.
“You couldn’t tell if it was our state championship game or our third-down periods in practice with him competitively,” Kjar said. “There’s no difference with him. He just competes his [butt] off and he builds his guys up the same way.
“It mattered to him, and I think his teammates saw that.”
That confidence was matched by how much time Dart spent preparing each week. Coach Brian Daboll said Friday that Dart called him late Thursday night to go over some more red-zone work.
Daboll’s response? “Get some sleep. We’ll hit in the morning.”
It’s a level of dedication that took form in high school and college. Former Giants head coach Joe Judge, a senior analyst at Ole Miss, said it wasn’t surprising to kick Dart out at 10:30 p.m. when he was still watching film.
Judge also saw how Dart cared about the people around him. Being a good teammate was just as important as being great on the field, and he thinks that will help him win over the Giants' locker room.
“I don’t think there is any rookie ever who has walked into the league and on Day One commands everyone’s respect,” Judge said. “That’s not realistic. But he’ll work and do everything he needs to do to be able to put himself in that position.”
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Dart was well-prepared, having Judge in his ear as well as Charlie Weis Jr. as his offensive coordinator. It gave him an NFL-type education so that even in a college offense, Dart learned how to act and think like a pro.
One lesson learned was that Dart was never satisfied with his work. He found ways to grow and improve over three seasons with Ole Miss to the point that he was named an All-SEC first-team selection as a senior.
“It really was all about his work ethic and how much he attacked anything that wasn’t a strength or an area that he didn't feel was an A,” Kiffin said.
Kjar put it simply: Dart was “just built to be a QB” with how he approached games, built bonds with teammates and delivered on the field.
He also knows Dart won’t get rattled easily on Sunday. During games, Kjar noticed that as much as Dart wanted to win, there was a calm confidence that didn’t let that drive overwhelm the focus to execute.
“It was like, ‘Yeah, I just do this’ . . . It’s pretty natural for him the way he handles himself,'' Kjar said. "You can tell he doesn’t get too big-eyed. He’s just super-engaged and knows what the hell he needs to do.”
The Giants expect no less. Dart’s been preparing for this moment, and now his former coaches will be watching to see if he can recreate the success he found with them.
If he does, they won’t be surprised. They’ll be glad others are seeing what they were fortunate to see early in the journey that landed Dart with the Giants.
“It’s always good to see him still be him,” Kjar said. “He’s grown as a player so much, which is fun as a coach to watch and see.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
