New York Giants' Jaxson Dart strives to be elite: 'I give myself no other option'

USA Today

5 days ago

New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart isn't short on confidence, and he's set extremely high expectations for himself.
Despite starting his first NFL season on the bench, Dart has established some lofty goals for his professional career. Once he takes over the reins, nothing but the very best will be considered acceptable.
Dart not only aims to become an elite quarterback at the NFL level, but he also strives to be viewed in the same lens as Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Muhammad Ali.
"I want to be elite," Dart told Steve Serby of the New York Post. "I feel like I've been somebody that's always trying to chase the top. . . I don't feel like I'm somebody that really ever gets satisfied with just being good and OK."
And what gives Dart the confidence that he will be able to achieve such greatness?
"'Cause I give myself no other option," he said.
The first obstacle Dart will have to contend with, other than waiting his turn, is handling the bright lights of New York City and the pressures that come from playing in the largest media market in the world. The Big Apple can weigh heavily on some, greats included.
It's not for everyone, but that's a challenge Dart embraces fully.
"I ain't scared of it. I told the coaches and the personnel department when I was on my visit here, I told them this is the place I wanted to be. I want to be on the biggest stage," he said.
That falls in line with the advice Dart received from another Ole Miss alumnus, Eli Manning.
"One thing he told me early on was to embrace the city, embrace the people, the culture, embrace New Jersey," he said. "You embrace the whole community, you don't ever view yourself as higher than anybody else or above anybody, you look at everybody as we're all the same, especially in God's eyes. I want to do my best to be an advocate for the community, and then at the same time, I just want to win."
And winning is something Dart intends to do a lot of. He's even envisioned how it will all play out.
"Absolutely," he said when asked if he's visualized hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. "I want to win a few of 'em. You asked me who I want to go to dinner with and I told you that I want to go to dinner with the best athletes, the ones who won the championships, who won the gold medals, and have been world champions. That's what I want to be someday."
The Giants and their fans want that, too. In fact, they're starving for it.