BYU Football: What if Jaxson Dart comes to BYU
By Adam Gibby
BYU Football fans have been closely following the five star quarterback’s recruitment.
Sometimes things seem better than they really are. For example, did you know that in the “white elephant” Christmas game, more than 70% of people elect to open a present rather than steal one on their first turn? Even more interesting is most people will go for the big present in the middle as opposed to the smaller ones despite there being no evidence that bigger equals better.
Right now, Jaxson Dart is the big present.
BYU Football appears to be heavily after USC transfer Jaxson Dart alongside schools like Oklahoma and Ole Miss. While it is obvious that BYU should be after him, what if the gift isn’t a good as we all think it is? What if he is better? Let’s take a look at both.
Ideal (unlikely) scenario
In an absolutely perfect world, Jaxson Dart arrives in Provo and decides to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That would mean that for the next two seasons Dart is off proselytizing while Jaren Hall plays his final season and Jacob Conover then takes over for a year.
After Dart returns home, he would take a redshirt year and get some significant playing time against teams like Kansas, Dixie State and another G5. This would set him up nicely the following season (still his sophomore year) to be the starting quarterback for as long as he wants.
Why this won’t happen: There is little evidence to support the idea that Dart is wanting to serve an LDS mission. While he hasn’t explicitly stated that he won’t serve a mission, with him already having a year under his belt and looking at other schools that wouldn’t support him going on a mission, this seems very unlikely. There is of course also the “Get to the NFL as fast a possible” mentality. A mission obviously slows that down, significantly.
Why this will happen: Big 12. If Dart decides that BYU is his best choice, he may decide that being on a mission and not losing eligibility may be in his best interest if it means getting three full seasons in the Big 12. Remember, both Ole Miss and Oklahoma are headed to the SEC (although OU may stay until 2025). Why be in a league compared to QB’s from Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M when you can be the face of a conference?