It’s the end of an era at Ole Miss. On Thursday, quarterback Jaxson Dart played his final game as a Rebel. He finished on a high note, leading Ole Miss to a dominant 52-20 win over Duke in the Gator Bowl. After the game, Dart reflected on his career at Ole Miss.

“It starts at the top. It starts with Coach Kiffin. He changed this program. That’s why I came here. I saw the excitement. I saw the vision that he had for it,” Dart told ESPN’s Taylor McGregor. “When you just get a group of guys that all see the same way, and you build a really strong culture, and it just shapes out that way. I’ve been very blessed to be a part of this program and forever thankful for it.

“I don’t think I’ve really soaked it all in yet. But like I said, this place changed my life, and was the best decision that I made. Just the relationships that I built with everybody here will last a lifetime. And I think that’s just something super powerful that football brings, especially when you join a great program.”

Dart left it all out on the field in his final game donning the Ole Miss’ red and blue. In the win, Dart completed 27-of-his-35 pass attempts for 404 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception.

He racked up 43 yards in the ground game, as well. Dart’s standout performance was nothing new. In three years at Ole Miss, Dart became the program’s all-time passing leader, surpassing longstanding record-holder Eli Manning.

Jaxson Dart finished the 2024 campaign with 4,279 passing yards and 29 touchdowns while completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts. Now, Dart will hope to see his success translate to the next level. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. listed Dart as the No. 7 quarterback in this year’s draft class in his latest NFL Draft Big Board.

He certainly has Kiffin’s vote of confidence.

“Jaxson has been an amazing leader to come in over the three years, set a bunch of school records, I think most wins and most yards and those things,” Kiffin said on Wednesday. “But his impact and his legacy that he leaves in the younger players is amazing, and the younger quarterbacks.

“He’s been great. I think a lot of these games, non-playoff games, we see so many players opt out of playing that are going to be draft picks, and I think for him to come out right away and saying he’s playing impacted a lot of our other players. I think a lot of times nowadays would have opted out to prepare for the draft. He’s amazing.”