The FSU football fan base has become somewhat fickle over the past decade with things they've experienced. The highs and lows of expecting elite results, only to be disappointed with poor performances.
Nowadays, even when good news drops, some in the fanbase find it difficult to find the positives. In the dictionary, you'll probably see a picture of an FSU fan beside the word jaded if.
FSU received excellent news on Monday when junior defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. announced he would return for the 2025 season and not enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
The news shocked many, as FSU coaches had a top defensive tackle target from the transfer portal (UCF's Lee Hunter) on campus the day before and feared his not committing to FSU before leaving was a failure by the staff.
However, what they didn't know, nor did any of the recruiting sites, was that Jackson was considering returning, and that gave the staff a lot of room to work with. The defensive tackle market is expensive in the transfer portal, and Jackson probably could have tested it if he wanted and would have commanded interest from top teams.
Kudos to the staff for not allowing it to get that far and probably having conversations about how he could improve his 2026 NFL Draft stock.
Here are three major reasons Jackson's return boosts the 2025 FSU defense.