It looks like a Florida politician is ready to do whatever it takes to get Florida State defensive lineman Darrell Jackson eligible for the remainder of the 2023 season. Drawing inspiration from North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker, who was finally granted a transfer waiver and immediate eligibility on Thursday, Florida Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis took to Twitter to directly confront the NCAA.
"The @NCAA are a bunch of out-of-touch hypocrites," Patronis tweeted. "NC threatens antitrust allegations and they punted to save face on their terrible decision. #FSU's Darrell Jackson must play NOW. We'll take legal action soon if they don't reverse course."
Jackson started his career at Maryland in 2021 before transferring to Miami in 2022 and then again to Florida State this past offseason. Because of the NCAA's guidelines limiting eligibility waivers for second-time transfers, Jackson was not allowed to play this season. He applied for a hardship waiver, citing the need to be closer to his mother due to a persistent medical condition, but the NCAA denied his request in August. As such, Jackson has yet to make his debut with the Seminoles. He started all 12 games last season at Miami, registering 27 tackles, 4.5 for a loss and three sacks.
"He came home for a reason," Florida State coach Mike Norvell told 247Sports. "And to be there with his mom, I thought all things that were shown and presented, but the NCAA, they have a choice of what they're gonna do and obviously the decision that they made."
Walker's case could give Jackson and Florida State some reason for optimism, however. North Carolina and Walker fought the NCAA throughout the offseason for a hardship waiver. Though the NCAA initially denied Walker eligibility a handful of days before the 2023 season began, it reversed course citing "new information" that "had not been made available by UNC previously" almost six weeks into North Carolina's 2023 campaign.
