First, I will say that I am rooting for Jaxson Dart. Hes from my hometown and

[rbmw263]

that would be really cool to see a kid from there to go far in the sport. That said, I think the hype around him is largely unfounded. I watched him 3 or 4 times last year and he showed flashes for sure. But I didnt see anything that made me go “wow, this kid is special.” I feel like the aura around him among cfb fans is he is next in line to be one of the best college QBs. He can be, but hes got a ton left to prove and is far from a sure thing. I just hope the massive premature expectations dont swallow the kid.

[Italy88]

Lame he’s from Kaysville and went to two high schools far from Davis. I’m from Kaysville as well, but I have no sense of pride in him nor hope that he does well. I’m indifferent.

[Johnny]

I’ll definitely be rooting for him. His dad played for the Utes. Never turn down a scholarship to USC. I think once he saw a complete culture change, he went where he felt the best fit. I’ll never ever be a player hater.

[PlainsUte]

Meh, remember Jake Heaps, wasn’t he a top rated HS QB?  Part of what makes a high school QB highly rated is going to youth QB camps and such.  Whether a QB is good in college depends as much on how willing they are to be a “lifetime learner”, including potentially unlearning bad habits from high school, plus persistence and resiliance to bad outcomes along the way.  Furthermore they have to stay physically strong and healthy.   The latter is a bit of a crapshoot.

[ProudUte]

I watched Jaxon play multiple times his senior year.   I thought he was amazing.  It is difficult to judge anything from what we saw at USC last season.  When he had London in the offense he threw for a ton of yards.  Without London, the offense was lacking.  Also, his coaches knew they were not going to be around and I doubt they did much to develop him.  He was basically on his own.

I think he will do well in Mississippi with a coaching staff who will develop his skills.  I want him to succeed.

He is not a Ute, that ship sailed a long time ago.  Since we will likely never be playing against him, I wish him the best.  I hope to see him in the NFL someday.

 

[MDUte]

Good thread. I’m not sure what to think about Dart. I’ve always found Yogi Roth’s analysis to be highly credible. And I think it was Yogi who I heard saying he watched Dart making throws in Fall camp that were next level. I’m not sure if the injury he sustained at the 1st of the season limited him for the remainder of the year. But it didn’t seem like he had any all-star performances after the injury. And I don’t even know what he hurt. He was wearing a knee brace all season long but I thought he hurt his hand in the Washington State game? Anyone know?

[2008 National Champ]

He hurt his knee early in the WSU game but finished it out. Then was out a week or two recovering. I think it definitely affected him the rest of the season, but nowhere near as much as losing London.

[WasatchRanger]

@proudute any insight as to why we were never in the running for Dart? Tried researching online and can’t find anything.

[2008 National Champ]

It’s hard to be in the running for someone you never offered. 100% of the girls I did not ask to the prom went with someone else.,,

[WasatchRanger]

Kinda surprising we didn’t, but whatever floats his boat. Best of luck with Lane Kiffin!

[2008 National Champ]

Dart isn’t the first QB from Utah that this staff hasn’t pursued. From the talk, both Costelli and Tuttle were assured that Utah wouldn’t offer anyone else if they committed so there weren’t spots available for Zach Wilson or Dart. Neither lasted a full season on the hill but you can’t really blame that on the recruiting process.

QB’s are a crapshoot since there’s only one ball. If they don’t get reps immediately, they start looking elsewhere. The days of stacking QB’s up like cordwood and them being willing to wait until their junior/senior season to get on the field are long gone.

I can’t speak to why Utah never offered Dart but he wasn’t highly regarded until after Costelli had committed. Utah apparently held to their word with Costelli – if the speculation is true – so it’s not like they recruited Dart hard and he went elsewhere. He may turn out to be the next Trevor Lawrence but no one thought so before he transferred to Corner Canyon.