SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – USC head football coach Clay Helton announced that former Corner Canyon High School standout Jaxson Dart would serve as the No. 15 ranked Trojans’ primary backup quarterback to start the 2021 season.

Helton announced the decision on Thursday, August 26.

Dart, a true freshman, beat out fellow true freshman Miller Moss for the backup spot to Trojans starter Kedon Slovis.

“Going into the San Jose State game we’ll have Kedon as the No. 1 quarterback, Jaxson as the No. 2, and Miller as the No. 3, with each trying to prep as hard as they can, in their mind to be a starter and prep like a starter,” Helton said. “All the kids handled it extremely well, like pros, like I knew they would, and we’ll move forward.”

“Where Jaxson had a leg up a little bit was in live action. That’s how it was evaluated. When the ball was put down in scrimmage-type atmospheres or live action, that’s what I needed to see. And he was a little more productive in those situations than Miller,” Helton added. “Both guys are elite, both guys will continue to compete. I’ve talked to both of them about it, ‘Miller have a chip on your shoulder and continue to compete.’ ‘Jaxson, compete like heck to hold onto the job.'”

Slovis is entering his junior season with the Trojans and could look to pursue the NFL following the 2021 season. If Slovis were to leave school early, the door would be open for Dart to become the Trojans’ starter in 2022.

USC starts its season against the San Jose Spartans on Saturday, September 4 at 3 p.m. (MDT). The game will broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

Jaxson Dart at Corner Canyon

During his undefeated 14-game run with the Chargers, Dart set a Utah High School Football single-season record for most touchdown passes with 67. He finished the 2020 season with 4,691 yards, good for 335.1 yards per game and a 146.9 QB rate.

The @JaxsonDart to @_codyhagen_ connection was going strong all night. Dart found Hagen for touchdowns of 80, 52, and 12 yards in @CCHSFOOTBALL_'s 35-25 win over Lone Peak.#GameNightLive // @kslsports pic.twitter.com/NJwDvEHgM0

— Zak Hicken (@zakhicken) September 25, 2020

BYU was the first college to offer Dart last summer when he was a relatively unknown prospect at Roy High School. After a nationally televised performance against Bingham last August, Dart’s interest from Power 5 schools started to roll in as Arizona State, USC, and UCLA all came into the picture for the No. 103 ranked national prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings.