Even though Jaxson Dart had a brilliant career at Ole Miss, Eli Manning remains one of the program’s all-time heroes. But Kewan Lacy, a modern star himself, did not pick the legendary QB in his list of Ole Miss legends.

Lacy named Dart, DK Metcalf, AJ Brown, and Tre Harris as his picks for an Ole Miss Mount Rushmore, shocking I AM Athlete host Darien Rencher. “Eli Manning?” he questioned the RB incredulously. Sure, Dart beat Manning as the school’s leading all-time passer. But Manning is a bigger legend in the Ole Miss community. Lacy relented and said, “He’s up there for sure,” but also clarified that he put two “old heads” in his list with Metcalf and Brown.

For context, Brown and Metcalf wrapped up their Ole Miss career in 2018. They are both way too young to be considered ‘old heads,’ as they are only 28 years old. But Lacy also said in his justification that he was born in 2006. Growing up, he watched these two play, while Manning’s legacy only existed as lore for him back then. If Rencher had asked this question to Metcalf or Brown, they would have surely included the iconic QB.

Eli Manning was the reason Ole Miss became a competitor, probably for the first time since his father, Archie Manning played for the program. The Rebels never won a championship during the younger Manning’s time, but he was still the most loved player in Oxford at that time. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill told Mississippi Today that Manning’s years at Ole Miss were some of “Oxford’s greatest years for growth and economic prosperity.

The former quarterback went on to win two Super Bowls and was the MVP on both occasions. But the beginnings of his journey to stardom were at Ole Miss. In 2001, Manning started for the first time in the Murray State game and threw five touchdowns. It set a short-term school record because Manning broke it the next year with six touchdowns against Arkansas. He lost the game, but it created an indelible memory for fans.

For years, Eli Manning held the program record for having the highest career total in passing yards at 10,119. Quarterbacks like Bo Wallace, Matt Corrall, and Chad Kelly tried, but slotted in at the second, third, and fourth positions behind Manning. In 2024, Dart eclipsed the former Rebel in total yardage, now sitting at the top with 10,617 career passing yards. He also dethroned Manning from the top in the single-season and single-game leaderboards. But the elder quarterback’s legacy outshines that of Dart by so many miles.

“He’s been a huge role model for me,” Dart said during the NFL Scouting Combine. “Somebody who has shed a lot of wisdom throughout my time at Ole Miss. [He’s someone] I’ve really looked up to. We’ve definitely had those conversations. He’s a legend.”

The young stars probably have to take some time to truly take stock of what No. 10 means for Ole Miss.

Eli Manning’s son sees is a die-hard Jaxson Dart fan

Forget being ignored by Kewan Lacy, Eli Manning’s own son is a massive Jaxson Dart fan. The former told People Magazine that Charlie, his 8-year-old, had the latter QB’s posters everywhere in his room. He’d also dressed up as Dart for Halloween. To flex his superiority as a dad, Manning took a photo with Dart when they met on one occasion and sent it to Charlie, who wasn’t there with him at that time.

“It hurts a little bit,” Manning joked when his elder brother asked about his son seeing Dart as the better quarterback, despite having a Rebels and Giants legend for a father.

However, the two quarterbacks share a very close bond. Manning had been an “asset” for Dart, he said in February. According to the Giants QB1, they can talk about all sorts of things, ranging from football to just life in general. Dart even asked Manning for dinner reservations once, just because he could. But most importantly, the younger QB is here because Manning was an inspiration to him. That acknowledgement settles the debate on who is the bigger legend.