TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. won’t be allowed to play this season after transferring from Miami.
The NCAA denied Jackson’s hardship waiver last week, Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said Tuesday. The waiver would have cleared Jackson to play after switching schools for the second time in as many years, the latest move to be closer to his ailing mother.
Jackson called the decision “hurtful.”
“I know what I came home for; I came home for my mom,” Jackson said Tuesday. “Me, I’m just trying to get through it and be here for my mom. She thinks it’s her fault, but it’s not. I’m going to continue to be there for my mom and see how things play out.”
Jackson added that he’s unsure if the NCAA is “trying to prove a point or what.”
Jackson, who grew up about 20 minutes from Tallahassee in Havana, began his college career at Maryland in 2021. He used his one-time transfer to play at Miami last season. He changed schools again this offseason to be near his mother, who has an undisclosed medical condition.
“I’m extremely disappointed just for that young man, just the journey, the reason why he’s here, just sad that he’s going to miss games,” Norvell said. “Obviously, there’s still processes that we’re looking at going through.”
