Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart Named to Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023

Ole Miss football junior quarterback Jaxson Dart has been named one of 35 quarterbacks nationally on the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Tuesday.

Each honoree is now an official candidate to win the 2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, which presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 35 quarterbacks have helped lead their respective teams to a combined record of 226-56 (.801), and all of their teams possess a record of .500 or better through week nine. All 10 FBS conferences as well as one football independent are represented on the list. The Pac-12 and SEC lead the way with six honorees apiece.

Dart is one of six SEC quarterbacks on the Davey O’Brien list, the latest honor for the Rebel junior who was also recently added to both the Maxwell Award and Manning Award watch lists. Dart is in the midst of an excellent 2023 season marshaling a Rebel offense that ranks third in the SEC in both scoring (38.9 ppg) and total offense (474.0 ypg). On the year, Dart stands at 136-of-211 (64.5 percent) for 2,080 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. Dart has also been highly effective on the ground, ranking second in the SEC among QBs in both yards per carry (3.8) and yards per game (40.8).

He is one of just 13 nationally with at least 300 yards of total offense per game, ranking 13th overall and third in the SEC at 300.8 per contest. He ranks second in the SEC at 15.8 points responsible for per game, as well as within the FBS top-10 in yards per completion at 15.3 (FBS No. 6) and yards per attempt (FBS No. 7).

Dart is starting to climb several all-time lists at Ole Miss as well, as he now ranks seventh all-time in career 300-yard passing games (4), eighth in passing touchdowns (34), ninth in total offense (5,994), ninth in touchdowns responsible for (42) and 10th in passing yards (5,054). In his overall career combining his totals from his freshman season at USC in 2021, Dart owns 6,407 yards passing, 7,390 yards of total offense, 983 yards rushing (940 at Ole Miss) and 43 passing touchdowns.

Dart is 17 rushing yards shy of becoming one of just 20 active quarterbacks in the FBS and four within the SEC with at least 4,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards, as well as one of 17 with at least 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. In his Ole Miss career, Dart is 60 rushing yards shy of becoming just the third QB in Rebel history to break the 5,000/1,000 barrier in a career.

The next step in the process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from the 35 quarterbacks. The semifinalists will be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as bonus ballots awarded from the first round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote.

For the fourth straight year, the Fan Vote will take place on the award’s three social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X) – and the top five vote getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.

To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O’Brien Award post highlighting their quarterback. The first round is open now until Friday, Nov. 10 at noon (CT). The semifinalists will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Looking ahead, the three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 28, while the winner will be announced live on Friday, Dec. 8, on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.

In 1938, O’Brien, who was a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.

The 47th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

2023 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Timeline

Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023 Announced (Tuesday, Oct. 31) 

Semifinalist Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Oct. 31-Friday, Nov. 10) 

Semifinalists Announced (Tuesday, Nov. 14)

Finalist Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Nov. 14-Friday, Nov. 24)

Finalists Announced (Tuesday, Nov. 28) 

Winner Round Fan Vote Open (Tuesday, Nov. 28-Friday, Dec. 1)

Winner Announced on Home Depot College Football Awards (Friday, Dec. 8)

47th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner (Monday, Feb. 19, 2024)

Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2023

Drew Allar, Penn State, So., 6-5, 242, Medina, Ohio

Carson Beck, Georgia, Jr., 6-4, 220, Jacksonville, Fla.

Davis Brin, Georgia Southern, Sr., 6-2, 210, Boerne, Texas

Brady Cook, Missouri, Jr., 6-2, 205, St. Louis, Mo.

Jayden Daniels, LSU, Sr., 6-4, 210, San Bernardino, Calif.

JT Daniels, Rice, Sr., 6-2, 237, Irvine, Calif.

Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, Jr., 6-2, 220, Kaysville, Utah

Quinn Ewers, Texas, So., 6-2, 195, Southlake, Texas

Dequan Finn, Toledo, Jr., 6-2, 205, Detroit, Mich.

Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma, Sr., 5-11, 204, Mililani, Hawaii

Darren Grainger, Georgia State, Sr., 6-4, 225, Conway, S.C.

Frank Harris, UTSA, Sr., 6-0, 205, Schertz, Texas

Sam Hartman, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-1, 212, Charlotte, N.C.

Mikey Keene, Fresno State, So., 5-11, 198, Chandler, Ariz.

Zac Larrier, Air Force, Sr., 6-0, 195, Youngstown, Ohio

Drake Maye, North Carolina, So., 6-4, 230, Huntersville, N.C.

Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina, Sr., 6-3, 220, Indian Trail, N.C.

J.J. McCarthy, Michigan, Jr., 6-3, 202, La Grange Park, Ill.

Jordan McCloud, James Madison, Sr., 6-0, 199, Tampa, Fla.

Kyle McCord, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 215, Mt. Laurel, N.J.

Graham Mertz, Florida, Jr., 6-3, 215, Overland Park, Kan.

Jalen Milroe, Alabama, So., 6-2, 220, Katy, Texas

Bo Nix, Oregon, Sr., 6-3, 214, Pinson, Ala.

Michael Penix Jr., Washington, Sr., 6-3, 213, Tampa, Fla.

Michael Pratt, Tulane, Jr., 6-3, 220, Boca Raton, Fla.

Austin Reed, Western Kentucky, Jr., 6-2, 230, St. Augustine Beach, Fla.

Kaidon Salter, Liberty, So., 6-1, 200, Cedar Hill, Texas

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, Jr., 6-2, 215, Dallas, Texas

Preston Stone, SMU, So., 6-1, 219, Dallas, Texas

Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland, Sr., 5-11, 208, Ewa Beach, Hawaii

Jordan Travis, Florida State, Sr., 6-1, 212, West Palm Beach, Fla.

DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State, Jr., 6-4, 252, Inland Empire, Calif.

Tyler Van Dyke, Miami, Jr., 6-4, 230, Glastonbury, Conn.

Cameron Ward, Washington State, Jr., 6-2, 223, West Columbia, Texas

Caleb Williams, USC, Jr., 6-1, 220, Washington, D.C.

About the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The Davey O’Brien Award honors candidates who exemplify Davey O’Brien’s enduring character while exhibiting teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership in both academics and athletics. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrienAward.com.

Previous Davey O’Brien Award winners include: Jim McMahon (BYU, 1981), Todd Blackledge (Penn State, 1982), Steve Young (BYU, 1983), Doug Flutie (Boston College, 1984), Chuck Long (Iowa, 1985), Vinny Testaverde (Miami, 1986), Don McPherson (Syracuse, 1987), Troy Aikman (UCLA, 1988), Andre Ware (Houston, 1989), Ty Detmer (BYU, 1990-91), Gino Torretta (Miami, 1992), Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Kerry Collins (Penn State, 1994), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1995-96), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Michael Bishop (Kansas State, 1998), Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech, 1999), Chris Weinke (Florida State, 2000), Eric Crouch (Nebraska, 2001), Brad Banks (Iowa, 2002), Jason White (Oklahoma, 2003-04), Vince Young (Texas, 2005), Troy Smith (Ohio State, 2006), Tim Tebow (Florida, 2007), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, 2008), Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009), Cam Newton (Auburn, 2010), Robert Griffin III (Baylor, 2011), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M, 2012), Jameis Winston (Florida State, 2013), Marcus Mariota (Oregon, 2014), Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2015-16), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma, 2017), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma, 2018), Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019), Mac Jones (Alabama, 2020), Bryce Young (Alabama, 2021) and Max Duggan (TCU, 2022).

About the NCFAA

The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics