Santa Barbara Photographers Capture NFL Rookie’s Draft Day Dreams

A new generation of creatives from Santa Barbara have tapped into the sports media world, using their cameras and social media skills to chase their dreams. Earlier this year, a camera crew of three former Santa Barbara–area graduates got the chance to tag along with superstar quarterback Jaxson Dart during what may have been the biggest day of Dart’s life: the NFL Draft.

Mikey Desjardins, a 23-year-old creative director, sports videographer, and Bishop Diego graduate, first started shooting sports in high school after a leg injury took him out of the action and he found himself having more fun making videos of friends and teammates.

“When we didn’t have a game, I’d take my mom’s car and go to L.A. or San Diego to shoot different high school games and try and make a name for myself,” Desjardins said. “I’d be shooting for free or making enough money for a tank of gas and an In-N-Out burger on the way home.”

Soon, he had to make a choice whether to focus on sports, or take a chance on himself and dedicate more time to learning his craft.

“You can never replace those moments playing,” Desjardins said. “But I don’t beat myself up for making the decision to continue pursuing photography and videography, because honestly, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

After graduating in 2021, Desjardins threw himself into his career. He had already been working with an organization called the Trillion Boys, one of the premier seven-on-seven football clubs in the country, which gave him the opportunity to shoot up close and personal with top-rated recruits.

“I told them I wanted to be more of a personal photographer and videographer, that I don’t want to be looked at like paparazzi,” Desjardins said. “I want to dive into these athletes and build stories. I wanted to be in those rooms and capture those moments. That’s what people resonate with.”

He says that working these national football tournaments opened up a whole new world and allowed him to earn new opportunities to travel and work in places he’d only dreamed of when he first picked up a camera. “From that point on, it’s been nonstop,” he said. “These past couple years have been a journey.”

Building the Team

---

As Desjardins continued to make a name for himself in Los Angeles, collaborating with high-profile athletes, social media influencers, and music artists, he made an effort to seek out other creatives from Santa Barbara who were also interested in working in the industry.

Roark Norton, a former Santa Barbara High School linebacker who picked up the camera during his senior year, says he was drawn to photography and video production in the same way as Desjardins. He used to watch highlight edits online and dream of making his own until he got his first camera and began snapping photos on the sideline whenever he wasn’t making plays on the field.

After his final season of football in 2022, Norton said he wasn’t sure what his next step would be. He used the summer after he graduated to work on his editing skills, building up his profile on social media while working long hours at a restaurant to make extra money. “I would just be drenched in sweat,” he said.

Then one day Norton got a message on Instagram from Desjardins, whom he had never met. Desjardins told Norton he was also raised in the Santa Barbara area and said they should work together. When Norton responded, he was offered a job on a shoot that next weekend.

Desjardins said he was immediately struck by Norton’s eagerness and hard work ethic. Within six hours the pair completed a basketball photo shoot, a walkaround vlog in Huntington Beach, and a collaboration with rap artist Kalan.FrFr.

“I got to meet guys I’d always seen on TV, and it was the first time I’ve been starstruck,” Norton said. “Mikey said I had to join him, and that there were always more jobs to do.”

Last-Minute Audible

---

Desjardins met football star Jaxson Dart several years ago when Dart was making the transfer from the University of Southern California to finish his college career at Ole Miss. Dart is a prototypical golden boy quarterback, with a Colgate-commercial smile and flowing blond curls. Desjardins began with a few fashion-style photos before being asked to create a 30-second spot for one of Dart’s brand deals. 

Then just a few weeks before the NFL Draft, Dart’s team reached out again to ask if Desjardins wanted to help document Dart’s draft day experience with his family in Salt Lake City.

The day before Desjardins was supposed to head out, he said he had a gut feeling that he should bring another photographer to help shoot the event. “There was just something in me that was like, ‘I don’t want to go alone,’” he said.

His first thought was to call Norton, and together they convinced another up-and-coming photographer and Santa Barbara High School graduate Justin Munoz to join. Munoz had picked up the camera just a few months prior but clearly had a good eye and impressed the pair with his ability to learn on the fly. 

“It was so unreal to get that call,” Munoz said. “I’m 19. How often do you get a chance to do something like this?”

Draft Day Jitters

---

After a 12-hour drive, with Munoz stuffed in the backseat among the bags of equipment, the crew stayed up late the night before Draft Day to prepare their game plan. Desjardins and Norton would handle the video end, while Munoz would take the high-pressure job of capturing more than 3,000 stills.

The team met up with Dart for a round of golf before heading over to meet his family. Munoz says he was nervous about meeting Dart, but they soon started to connect and talk about golf, with Munoz even giving Dart a few pointers as a stand-in caddy.

“When Justin did that, he broke that ice,” Desjardins said. “He was a big factor in making Jaxson comfortable.”

As the shoot moved to Dart’s house, his comfort with the camera crew was evident in an impromptu interview recorded in the kitchen, where the young quarterback is reflecting on the moment he is about to experience, with his childhood dreams about to come true.

“I feel like 20 years down the road, I’m gonna look back at this like it was just an amazing experience for my family,” Dart says, explaining why he chose to stay in Salt Lake City and host a watch party rather than attend the NFL event. “I just wanted everybody to be here.”

The photos and video from these quiet moments offer a rare glimpse into Dart’s mind, as he gets dressed, fixes his hair in the mirror, and contemplates how his life may change in a few hours.

The Moment

---

Much of draft day is a waiting game. Prospects spend months meeting with teams and having every detail of their lives run through with a fine-tooth comb, and it’s never certain that their name will be called in the first round.

Desjardins, Norton, and Munoz knew they would have to be on alert for hours to capture the big moment when Dart received the call. “We had a 30-second window of this call, and we had to be in the right spots in the room,” Desjardins said.

More than 200 of Dart’s closest family and friends were at the watch party, and while the excitement was high when everybody arrived, the collective nervousness in the room began to grow as the first two dozen picks crept by without any word about Dart. “After a while, everyone’s looking over at Jaxson and waiting for that moment as he keeps checking his phone,” Desjardins said.

Then, nearly three hours into the draft, when it seemed like Dart may have slipped into the lower rounds, Dart takes a phone call and the room turns silent. The camera crew gets in place and starts recording. As soon as Dart hangs up the phone, he stands almost speechless, and the room explodes into cheers.

Jaxson Dart taking the call that changed his life, when New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen told him they would be taking him in the first round of the 2025 draft. | Credit: Justin Munoz

“It was literally dead quiet in there, then it was really loud,” Norton said. “Kids screaming and crying. Everybody’s just kind of in shock.”

Shortly after the call, the official announcement came across the TV, as Dart sat on the couch surrounded by family. Dart was selected 25th overall, with the New York Giants trading up to pick the star quarterback.

At the time, Dart was just 21 years old, almost the same age as the three members of the camera crew. “It’s like he’s one of us,” Desjardins said. “But now his whole life changed with that phone call. It was so surreal to see it and capture the moment.”

The room exploded into cheers the moment Jaxson Dart’s name was officially announced in the NFL draft. Dart was surrounded by friends and family in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. | Credit: Justin Munoz

The moment made Desjardins reflect on his own journey, from picking up the camera as a teenager to shooting some of the world’s biggest athletes in just a couple of years. And he credited Norton and Munoz for their ability to turn around high-quality work under pressure.

“We’re three photographers from Santa Barbara in this room,” Desjardins said. “And it’s not like this opportunity was just plopped on us. I really worked hard for this, for us to get in that space, so being able to bring them along too, it was awesome.”

Munoz’s photos of that day have since been shared to social media and viewed by millions of people. “When Jaxson posted my photos to his account, it was crazy,” Munoz said. “I showed my mom that morning.”

Norton also took the chance to reflect, from shooting high school games to working with superstar athletes like Tyreek Hill to shooting surf content in Indonesia at some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

“Mikey told me when we first met that we’re gonna make it one day,” Norton said. “But it came a lot faster than I thought it was going to. We did this as a couple freelancers who just came together because of a friendship, and I just want this to be an example to others who may not be going down the traditional college route. I want parents to understand their kids and believe in their visions.”