FSU football: Did DT Darrell Jackson Jr. get approved for his waiver?

FSU football fall camp is about to begin its second week in preparation for the 2023 season opener against the LSU Tigers on Sunday, September 3rd, in Orlando, Florida.

One of the biggest question marks of fall camp has been the waiver status of junior defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr.

Jackson Jr. spent last season with the arch-rival Miami Hurricanes where he had 27 tackles and three sacks.

The problem is that the talented defensive tackle started his career with the Maryland Terrapins before transferring to the Hurricanes in 2022, and has now to the Florida State Seminoles. That’s three teams in three seasons.

Jackson Jr. is originally from Havana, Florida (which is only about 30 minutes from Tallahassee, Florida). He wanted to transfer to FSU football to be closer to home to provide care and support for an ill family member.

On Monday afternoon, Jackson Jr. seems to have encouraging cryptic news on social media. While the post could ultimately mean anything, it certainly seems plausible the defensive tackle could have gotten his waiver, given that we are 27 days away from kickoff against LSU.

As we look back at the 2022 season, fans saw how the Seminoles’ defensive unit performed without defensive tackle Fabien Lovett Sr., who announced that he would return for the 2023 season.
As a result, FSU decided to acquire defensive tackles Darrell Jackson Jr. and Braden Fiske via the transfer portal to solidify serviceable depth if injuries were to occur on the defensive line as well as allow younger players such as Joshua Farmer (who should still play significant snaps this season), Ayobami Tifase, Daniel Lyons, and Keith Sampson time to develop properly.

Even if Jackson Jr. is not able to get his waiver approved, defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins should have a multitude of defensive players to work with at the position.

I’m sure the waiver will be one of the first questions asked of Mike Norvell when he speaks with the media next time.