Jackson Dart was the quarterback that the Giants took on the 25th overall pick in the draft and received a special welcome to New York on Friday from another Ole Miss alumnus.
Giants icon Eli Manning recorded a message to his fellow Rebel alumni and welcomed him to the Big Blue family.
“Congratulations Jackson, on drafting by the New York Giants,” Manning said. “Obviously there’s a strong connection between Ole Miss quarterback and the Giants returning to Charlie Connery. I’m excited that tradition will continue with you. I’m not going to sit here and talk about what the Giants are.
“Ole Miss of the past three years has been an honor and has taken you in for you. I look forward to cheering for you for the Giants over the next 15 years.”
Jackson called out the message “special” in a clip shared on social media, and the new Giants quarterback said Manning was his role model “for a while.”
During his introduction press conference, DART expanded his relationship with Manning at Ole Miss and the current Giants.
“He was actually one of the first people to reach out to me when the news broke yesterday, and I think I had a very big connection with him and the Manning family who could have them in my corner.
When asked if Manning gave him a specific Inter about the Giants, Dart said they would talk in more detail later.
“The last few hours of these were a bit crazy,” he said.
Manning played four seasons with Ole Miss from 2000 to 2003 before arriving in the NFL where he spent his entire career with the Giants, leading the organization to the Super Bowl titles in 2008 and 2012.
Dart played QB for the Rebels for three seasons, where he developed a good relationship with Manning and his father, Archie.
