After coming off the bench in his Central Florida debut, former Tennessee football quarterback Tayven Jackson has been named the starter for UCF. Earlier this week, Knights head coach Scott Frost announced the official decision after Jackson impressed in the 17-10 win over Jacksonville State to open the season.
In that game, Jackson entered for Cam Fancher in relief after an injury. The former Vol produced 282 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17-of-24 passing. He also ran seven times for five yards and didn’t turn the ball over. Now, he’ll get the reins of the offense from the jump against North Carolina A&T. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN+.
He will be one of three former Tennessee quarterbacks to get in-game action on Saturday. At UCLA, Nico Iamaleava will travel to face Dan Mullen’s UNLV squad at 8 p.m. ET on CBSSN. At Colorado, Deion Sanders says that both former UT signal caller Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis will get action against Delaware. Both Iamaleava and Salter lost their openers a week ago as the starter.
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Jackson spent just one season in Knoxville as a true freshman. In 2022, he played in three games with no starts. He produced 37 yards through the air on 3-for-4 passing. He also ran for 10 yards and a touchdown. Following that season, with Joe Milton III taking the starting job into 2023, he transferred to Indiana.
In 2023 with the Hoosiers, Jackson played in six games and started in five. He went 2-3 as the starter while throwing for 914 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for a score. In 2024, he started one game and appeared in seven for an Indiana team that went to the College Football Playoffs. He totaled 349 passing yards, four touchdowns, one interception and three rushing scores.
After his second campaign with IU, Jackson transferred to UCF, where he will now make his first start. He is from Greenwood, Indiana, and his brother, Trayce Jackson-Davis, played basketball at Indiana and is now on the Golden State Warriors.
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