Florida pulls a key playmaker back from the brink of the transfer portal

The transfer portal in college football doesn’t officially open until Friday, and so even though the Gators have had upwards of 20 players announce their intentions to hit the portal, none of those players are officially gone just yet.

As such, Florida does have the possibility of getting players to reverse course, and on Saturday, they did just that with a potential key playmaker for the 2026 campaign.

Amir Jackson to return to Florida

Amir Jackson had previously announced he would be hitting the transfer portal, but on Saturday, it was announced he was not going to hit the portal, and he would stay in Gainesville for the 2026 season.

Jackson is still a bit of a mystery for Florida fans and is emblematic of how Billy Napier struggled to use his potential playmakers. The composite top 100 overall prospect was one of the highest-rated tight ends Florida had ever signed. He was the first four-star tight end Florida had signed since Arlis Boardingham, had a higher composite rating than Kyle Pitts, and was the highest-rated tight end Florida had signed since Kent Taylor from the class of 2012.

But despite Napier utilizing two tight end sets with frequency, Jackson just never found the field with and concistency. He played just 12 snaps in 2024 before he got up to 138 snaps in 2025. He utilized in blocking for 58% of his snaps in 2025, despite the fact that he was the lightest tight end on the roster for Florida. In the 42% of snaps he got to run a route, he was targeted just six times for three catches and 29 yards.

With Hayden Hansen hitting the transfer portal, this would have left Florida with Tony Livingston as the only TE returning with experience. Perhaps sensing an opportunity at Florida under new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, Jackson reversed course and will be with the Gators next season.

Jackson was listed at 6’5” and 235 pounds in 2025 and will still have three seasons of eligibility left.