EAST RUTHERFORD - This was before Jaxson Dart knew for certain he would be the next quarterback of the New York Giants, well before he could have predicted he would be in the spotlight of MetLife Stadium for Thursday night's game opposite Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was a simple question during his media session seven months ago at the Combine - to which quarterback does Dart compare himself? - and the answer was given without hesitation.
"I feel like it's a little bit of a cop-out because he just won the Super Bowl, but I love Jalen Hurts and what he does," Dart said back then. "I feel like I'm very similar in my play style to him. I feel like we can do a lot of the same things. Obviously, he's an elite player, and I'm trying to reach that level."
Dart is not shy about his admiration for Hurts, and not just for his play on the field. He wants to be accountable and lead like his Eagles counterpart.
At 22 years old, Dart is the youngest quarterback in the league. And with that distinction, he's also the face of the franchise and the player to whom an entire locker room looks when the chips are down.
The Giants are 1-4 and still searching to find the qualities that will make them consistent winners again. Meanwhile, the Eagles are 4-1 and in spite of that, the talk in Philadelphia has centered on what's wrong with the team and what resulted from a meeting between Hurts, Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown, who has voiced his displeasure for a lack of targets over the season's first month.
What Dart sees from Hurts in these situations means as much as what he can take from his ability on the field to beat opponents with his arm and his legs.
"I love his mentality, his everyday accountability of himself, and at the same time, raising the bar for his teammates," Dart said this week. "That was something, as an early college player, being able to look up to guys like that. It's going to be really cool to be on the same field with him and being able to compete against him. At the same time, him just being a really good competitor and being able to do a lot of things with his arm and with his legs and putting his team in really good situations to win."
Dart is going to make mistakes. He's going to lose games, too.
That's an undeniable, inherent reality of holding the job he wants as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
"This was my first loss in the NFL, and if we're just being realistic, it's not going to be my last," Dart said. "Obviously, you don't want those things to happen, but it's just part of the game. So, just trying to come back, identify the things I need to work on, at the same time being able to say things I did well, and then try to carry those over to the next week."
His response to whatever struggles he encounters will wind up being the most essential component in his evolution as a rookie QB for the New York Giants. Two starts into his career, one filled with such promise just a week ago after leading the team to its first victory, Dart was forced to endure the emotion that comes at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Of the Giants' five game-altering turnovers, which left tackle Andrew Thomas wisely called a "recipe for disaster," Dart played a role in three of them in Sunday's 26-14 loss to the previously winless Saints.
Dart's belief that leading a team through good times and bad is not part of a plan he came up with in the losing locker room Sunday in New Orleans. Here's what he said about that responsibility in the same interview at the podium inside the Indianapolis Convention Center as part of the Combine in March.
"The higher you get at this level, there's a lot of things that are on your back," Dart said. "Just being able to be mentally strong, be somebody that's really confident in their identity as a person. Praise and blame is all the same [and] you've got to be able to take that to heart."
A week earlier, there was a parade in the victorious locker room of all those falling over themselves to tell Dart how good he was. In the Giants' loss to the Saints, Dart was the one who felt the need to go to all corners of a losing locker room promising to do his job to the best of his ability.
"I like him," Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters in Philadelphia about Dart. "Another mobile quarterback. I think he's got that air about him to be a quarterback. I think he's confident in his abilities and in their offense. Got the gun run game to contend with. They'll run quarterback draws, quarterback designed runs. He's good. I think they got themselves a quarterback."
Even more will be on Dart's shoulders against the Eagles in the aftermath of Malik Nabers' season-ending ACL injury, a devastating blow to the playmaking ability and explosiveness of the offense. Darius Slayton, the No. 1 on Sunday in New Orleans because of Nabers’ absence, injured his hamstring and will miss the game against the Eagles.
That leaves Wan'Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, undrafted rookie Beaux Collins and returner Gunner Olszewski as the only wide receivers on the active roster. Lil' Jordan Humphrey is expected to be a game day elevation from the practice squad, and the Giants will likely continue to consider other options on the market. Dart has developed a rapport with second-year tight end Theo Johnson, who has caught all three of his touchdown passes, and veteran tight end Daniel Bellinger emerged as a valuable player against the Saints.
Then, of course, there is rookie running back Cam Skattebo and the anticipated return of Tyrone Tracy following a two-game absence due to a shoulder injury.
It's going to be a challenge to play like the point guard Dart wants to be when the Giants need him to be the facilitator, the playmaker and the scorer.
"I got a lot of respect for his game," Hurts said of Dart."I know he's played for [Ole Miss coach Lane] Kiffin.He’s a hell of a player.He’s honestly in a great situation to learn a lot.Rooting for his success."
Except, of course, on Thursday night.