Trayce Jackson-Davis will probably be rooting against his alma mater on Sept. 5.
His brother Tayven Jackson will be the week one starter at quarterback for the North Texas Mean Green when they come to Bloomington to kick off the 2026 season.
Jackson won the starter job after a fall camp competition according to multiple reports. He beat out East Carolina transfer Chaston Ditta and returning backup Chris Jimerson Jr.
“I’m very excited,” Jackson told the Denton Chronicle Record of the season opener at IU. “I’m going back home.
“I have it in the back of mind that it’s against Indiana, but you know it’s just a regular game.”
Jackson is coming off the most extensive action of his career in 2025. As a fourth-year at UCF, he completed 63.5% of his passes and threw for 2,151 yards, with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 games. The nimble Jackson also rushed for 85 yards and three more scores.
It will mark Jackson’s return to Bloomington, where he played quarterback for the Hoosiers in 2023 and 2024 for Tom Allen and Curt Cignetti, respectively.
A product of Greenwood, Ind. and the younger brother of Jackson-Davis, Jackson transferred to Indiana following the 2022 season after starting his college career at Tennessee.
Indiana’s historic run to the 2024 College Football Playoff probably would not have happened without a good start by Jackson against Washington after Kurtis Rourke went down with a thumb injury.
Jackson completed 11-of-19 passes against Washington for 124 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He rushed six times for 17 yards and another score in the 31-17 IU win.
Jackson filled in for Rourke mid-game the week prior when the IU starter went down in the first half against Nebraska. Jackson completed 7-of-8 passes for 91 yards and two scores in that game. Overall he played in seven games and completed 23-of-37 passes for 349 yards with four touchdowns and the interception in 2024. He added 15 carries, 73 yards, and three more scores.
In 2023 Jackson appeared in six games for IU with five starts as he battled with Brendan Sorsby for the starting job, a role he earned early in the season and later lost. Overall in 2023 he completed 78-of-128 throws for 914 yards, with two touchdowns and five interceptions.
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