When the New York Giants selected Jaxson Dart with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, they continued a trend of hitching their fortunes to Ole Miss quarterbacks. On Friday, former Rebels and Giants QB Eli Manning officially welcomed Dart to the club.

One day after hearing his name called in the first round, Dart made the trip up to the Giants facility where he was greeted with a message from Manning. The two-time Super Bowl champion said Dart will continue a rich tradition of former Rebel quarterbacks leading the franchise.

“Obviously, there’s a strong connection between Ole Miss quarterbacks and the Giants going back to Charlie Conerly,” Manning said. “I’m excited that tradition will continue with you. I’m not going to sit here and tell you what a great organization the Giants are. It won’t take you long to figure that out by yourself.”

Dart didn’t begin his college career at Ole Miss, but that’s where he played the last three seasons after transferring from USC. While in Oxford, Dart formed a relationship with Manning and now the two will carry that bond into the NFL.

“It’s been an honor and a lot of fun rooting for you these past three years at Ole Miss,” Manning said. “I look forward to rooting for you on the Giants for the next 15 years.”

Dart replied by saying that Manning has been “a huge role model” for him dating back to before he was even at Ole Miss.

By the end of his time with the Rebels, Dart had passed Manning on the school’s all-time passing list with 10,617 yards. Giants fans would be pretty pleased if Dart did the same thing to Manning’s franchise records in New York.