Former Tennessee football quarterback Tayven Jackson is on to his fourth school. After spending this past season as the starter for UCF, he has entered the portal and transferred to North Texas. The Mean Green are now coached by Neal Brown after Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State.
Jackson was at Tennessee in 2022 as a true freshman. The four-star recruit was behind Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton III, though, and only played in three games. During that time, he threw for 37 yards and ran for 10 and a touchdown.
After the season, Jackson entered the portal with no clear timeline to earn the role as the starter in Knoxville. He made his way to Indiana, where he appeared in six games and made five starts as a redshirt-freshman. He threw for 914 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions that year.
The following year, he played in seven games, but only started in one. Jackson threw for 349 yards, four touchdowns and a pick that season under Curt Cignetti.
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This past season was his first at UCF. There, he played in 11 games and started 10. He totalled 2,151 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight picks. He also ran for 85 yards and three scores. The team finished 5-7 (2-7 Big 12) in Scott Frost’s first year back as head coach.
This will be Jackson’s final year of eligibility this season with North Texas. The team finished 12-2 (7-1 American) this past season, but got absolutely gutted in the transfer portal. The majority of players are following Morris to Oklahoma State, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins.
Jackson is likely going to be the starter for the Mean Green as they look to get off on the right foot under Brown. He was previously the head coach at West Virginia from 2019-24, before serving as assistant to the head coach at Texas this past season.
