FSU football had some impact freshmen in its 2025 recruiting class who played at a much higher level than anyone anticipated. The two who jump out immediately are Mandrell and Darryll Desir. The former earned freshman All-American honors, and the latter wasn’t too far behind in production.
The FSU staff recognized they played better than what they got paid for as freshmen, and have been renegotiating over the past couple of months and reached a deal. However, it appears the players (or their agents) are pushing for more money and have announced plans to enter the transfer portal.
Most FSU fans are saying, “Pay them whatever they want.” However, one fan brought up an interesting point:
I think the Désir twins have soo much upside but this is giving Pat Payton vibes knowing that they had DJ next to them eating double and triple teams every game…
— mattie (@mattieelise) January 6, 2026
The point is that former FSU defensive end Patrick Payton looked like a different player in 2024 once NFL First Round Pick Jared Verse wasn’t on the other side. He was non-existent that season and transferred to LSU to be invisible again. Did future NFL defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. have the same type of impact on the Desir twins?
Let’s be real. Jackson got double and triple-teamed almost every game, which would allow other players around him to make plays. What would the Desir twins look like without Darrell Jackson Jr. on the field? I'm sure there's numbers to support if this is true or not.
Also, let’s be real. There’s no way Darryll Desir should get the same amount as Mandrell. The two asking to get paid the same is robbery. Mandrell Desir had the better year and should be paid more. I see a world where FSU could save that money from paying them both to get a real quarterback or other positions of need. I’m not sold that the Desir twins can replicate what they did in 2025 without a Darrell Jackson Jr. type in the middle.
If that's the case, there's no sense in giving them a crazy amount of money for them to become non-impact players in 2025.
Also, if they are doing this after agreeing to a new deal, this isn't great a great look for young guys who were thought to be among the leaders on the team. If they are doing this now, this is something FSU will likely have to deal with every offseason with them.