Dec. 28, 2025, 7:02 a.m. ET
Florida tight end Amir Jackson will not enter the transfer portal, despite On3 reporting his intentions to do so earlier in December. On3’s Hayes Fawcett announced that Jackson re-signed with the Gators on Dec. 27 after Florida worked to reverse the decision.
When the announcement was made, Florida began working on retaining Jackson, according to Blake Alderman of Gators Online. Since then, senior tight end Hayden Hansen has made it known that he’ll be entering the transfer portal, and Florida hired Evan McKissack as the new tight ends coach. McKissack worked with the offensive linemen under Jon Sumrall at Tulane but has a history as a tight ends coach, too.
McKissack recruited Jackson out of high school while working at Troy and was one of the first to offer the now rising sophomore.
A four-star recruit ranked inside the top 100 overall and top 10 at his position out of high school, Jackson chose Florida over Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Miami, among others. Standing at 6-foot-4.75-inches and 210 pounds, he was viewed as the next pass-catching threat at tight end for Florida.
Jackson played four games for the Gators as a true freshman, but only 13 of his 24 snaps came on offense. He recorded no statistics and redshirted. The 2025 campaign saw him play at tight end in 11 games. However, Jackson only had three catches for 29 yards on the year. The highlight of his career so far came against No. 5 Texas A&M, when he scored his first career touchdown.
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With Hansen gone, Jackson should be the main receiving tight end at Florida in 2026. Senior Tony Livingston is still with the Gators, but he excels at blocking as a former offensive lineman.
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