In August 2020, 17-year-old Jaxson Dart was arguably the best active football player in the world.

Dart’s senior year of high school coincided with the peak of the COVID pandemic. So, while football at almost every level was on hold, Utah high school football was the exception.

When Dart’s Corner Canyon Chargers took the field against Bingham in a game televised by ESPN, it felt like the Little League World Series, college national championship game and Super Bowl all rolled into one. It was the only legitimate live football on TV for a starved sports public.

The game was even more than that for Dart, who led his team to a 42-20 win on the way to a perfect 14-0 season. The exposure from the game changed his life and has led him to Mobile this week for the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

“Luckily, Utah started on schedule and none of the other states did, so ESPN didn’t have a lot of things to broadcast at that time,” Dart said. “I was able to perform and have a good game with my teammates and then it just all took off. When you go into your senior year and you don’t have one scholarship offer and then you end the year by being the national player of the year, you could say it was overnight.”

Playing on a team that included center Jackson Powers-Johnson — who went to Oregon and played in last year’s Senior Bowl before being drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders — Dart threw for 4,691 yards with 67 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

That led to Dart sign with USC, where he played one season before transferring to Ole Miss and becoming one of the country’s best quarterbacks, throwing for an SEC best 4,279 yards last season. Dart believes playing at two high schools and two colleges is a benefit as he transitions into the pro game.

“I played in the Wing-T my first three years of high school, so I was in a huddle,” Dart said. “I went to Corner Canyon for my senior year, and we were more spread. USC my first year, we were more Air Raid. Sophomore year I transferred to Ole Miss and got introduced to the RPO game, play action and more deep shots. Then, really, we just progressed every year. We’re a tempo pro-style team. So, I feel like I’ve done it all.”

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Dart has been getting positive reviews for his play this week in Mobile. Draft analyst Todd McShay said he believes Dart is making a strong case to be a first-round draft pick and the third quarterback taken.

“The consistency, the sweet stroke of the ball, the timing, trajectory, ball placement, getting it out on time. Over time you just come to appreciate,” he said on The McShay Show after attending Senior Bowl practice. “Every step I go down the road with Jaxson, the more I like the guy.”

One player Dart has faced throughout his career is Jalen Milroe from Alabama. Now the two friends are teammates on the American team this week.

“We’ve known each other for a while,” Dart said of Milroe. “We got a first chance to meet face to face at the Manning Academy and developed a relationship from there. Quarterbacks only get what quarterbacks get. We both had a lot of success this year and we also had some adverse situations.

“During those times we were there for each other. I think that says a lot about the connection we’ve built and it’s been a lot of fun having him on the same team here and us being able to learn the offense together while competing at the same time.”

Kickoff for the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Mobile’s Hancock Whitney Stadium, with live television coverage on NFL Network. A limited number of tickets remain for the game, and may be purchased at seniorbowl.com/tickets.