Coach who knows Giants’ Jaxson Dart best: ‘He’s ready’ for starting QB job

The incisions across Fred Fernandes’ chest were still fresh.

So he tried to stay calm as he sat in the cab of his friend’s pickup truck that Friday night in 2018, a week and a half after undergoing six-way heart bypass surgery.

He watched from the parking lot, just like his doctor instructed, as his Roy High football team opened the season with a 28-14 win at Syracuse. Then Fernandes saw his sophomore quarterback, Jaxson Dart, running toward the truck.

Dart’s freshman season had ended in misery — a non-contact elbow fracture during a blowout first-round playoff loss. But even after surgery, even while not having Fernandes calling plays, Dart led his team to an emotional Week 1 win.

And now, after the game, he didn’t run alone. Dart brought all of his teammates — in full sprint — to the parking lot. Fernandes gingerly climbed out of the truck. His players surrounded him — one giant embrace — as tears streamed down Fernandes’ cheeks.

“Oh, my God, this kid is something else,” Fernandes thought of Dart in that moment.

Seven years and six days later, in a world away from suburban Salt Lake City, the Giants on Tuesday named Dart their new starting quarterback, pinning the hopes of a long-suffering franchise on a first-round rookie, three games into his first season.

Back in Utah, the man who coached Dart’s first ever start — as a 14-year-old freshman who won the job out of training camp — thought of that Friday night in the parking lot.

“That’s the type of leader he was,” Fernandes, 64, told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. “It was his team — always.”

That’s what the Giants want to eventually say about Dart, as they reflect on what they hope will be a Super Bowl-winning career.

None of it will be easy. Not navigating a brutal schedule over these next 14 games, beginning with Sunday’s home matchup with the 3-0 Chargers. Not maybe having to work under a new coaching staff in 2026, if Brian Daboll gets fired. And certainly not the colossal task of transforming the Giants — 3-17 since last season began — into a winner again.

But Fernandes, who mentored Dart for three high school seasons, won’t doubt this kid — even though he would have preferred him to sit and watch for a bit longer.

“The moment is not going to be too big for him,” Fernandes said. “I think he’s ready. I don’t think they have any other choice, really, if they want to keep their jobs.”

Indeed, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are playing their last card by starting Dart. They have these 14 games to get tangible progress out of him, provided their offensive line holds up for once.

“If there are plays to be made, he’ll make them,” Fernandes said. “I just hope he’s got enough in front of him to give him a little bit of time.”

Protection was a hurdle for Dart back in 2017, too. Fernandes’ son had played youth league football with Dart, so Fernandes knew his talent. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder before Dart started as a freshman: How capably will he lead players four years older than him?

By observing and picking his spots with his linemen. That’s how.

Dart leaned on older players for advice and watched how they handled adversity. He eased into a leadership role and “would never step on anybody’s toes,” Fernandes said. When teammates messed up, Dart took the blame.

Roy won Dart’s first game, but lost three of the next four, as the offensive line struggled. Gradually, Dart pulled that group along, and Roy closed the regular season 3-1.

“It was his huddle — and he made sure everybody knew it,” Fernandes said. “He got our offensive line to play a lot better. It wasn’t browbeating, but it was more like: ‘Hey, I’ve got to have just a little bit more time.’”

Then came that freak elbow fracture in the playoffs, when Dart felt something snap as he threw a pass.

“Did this kid’s future just evaporate?” Fernandes thought.

Dart attacked his rehab after surgery, refusing to settle after a 5-5 freshman season. In 2018, as a sophomore, he led Roy to a 9-3 record and a state semifinals appearance — a journey that started with Dart’s resilient Week 1 win.

Fernandes feels lucky he got to watch it at all, even from his buddy’s truck. During training camp, he felt weird and went to a hospital to get checked out. When tests revealed he needed a complex and uncommon six-way heart bypass, the doctor raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t know how the hell you did this without having a heart attack,” he said.

But sure enough, there Fernandes was on that Friday night, still standing after surgery, watching the young man who now carries the hopes of a once-proud Giants franchise.

After Fernandes’ players ran over to greet him, they took a knee for his postgame speech. He broke down a team huddle, and most players dispersed.

The mop-headed sophomore quarterback wearing No. 7 stuck around a bit longer. He approached Fernandes, smiled wide and leaned in for a hug.

“He’s a good kid, man,” Fernandes said. “And I think he’s the right kid for New York.”

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