a sneaky superstar: tayven jackson player spotlight

Tayven Jackson, quarterback for the North Texas Mean Green, has established himself as one of the surprise stories of the 2026 college football season.

Jackson, brother of former Indiana basketball star Trayce Jackson-Davis and son of former Washington State cornerback Ray Jackson, has found his groove after 3 seasons as a primary backup at both Tennessee and Indiana.

Jackson earned a starting role at UCF in 2025, but played at an average level and entered 2026 in a new home with minimal expectations.

Jackson has made stops at Tennessee, Indiana, UCF, but has now finally found his home in Denton at North Texas. He had an average season last year, throwing for 2,151 yards along with 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, but has significantly stepped up his game this year. So far this season, the gunslinger has thrown for 1,519 yards with 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Jackson falling into the lap of UNT is truly a match made in heaven. The Mean Green were simply outbid by Oklahoma State for last year's QB Drew Mestemaker, who UNT developed into a consensus first-rounder. Jackson came in with big shoes to fill as Mestemaker’s replacement, and has played his role perfectly. 

At 4-2 with a matchup against Tulane coming up, North Texas is fully in the group of 5 playoff picture if they can win out. This is due to Jackson’s veteran QB leadership and elite gunslinging ability.

Jackson started his season facing his former team in the Indiana Hoosiers, throwing for 192 yards and a pick, but also tallied an 89.9 QBR, showing his efficiency. 

Weeks later, it clicked. Jackson introduced himself to the college football world, recording 492 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception versus Texas State in week three, one of the best all around performances in the country this season.

The signal caller also led North Texas to an overtime win against Tulsa 45-44, in which he threw for 332 yards and an impressive 4 touchdowns. Jackson has been putting his team on his back.

Ultimately, Jackson has a great opportunity to keep elevating himself into national conversation. If he wants to, he needs to keep his gunslinger mentality while cutting down on the interceptions, as he has thrown 4 in 5 games this year.

However, this offense has been built entirely around him and this UNT coaching staff clearly trusts him to be the center of the offense regardless of turnover issues.

With Mestemaker leaving just a season ago, this staff knows what elite QB's look like, and lucky for UNT HC Neal Brown, Jackson is exactly that. In a conference like the American that is wide open with loads of parity, the fact that UNT has the best QB in the conference gives them an edge as we head into the home stretch of the season.

Jackson has finally found his groove in Denton, and now has a chance to make a name for himself with the Mean Green.

With a favorable schedule, if UNT can win out and beat Tulane, don't be surprised to see Tayven Jackson on CFP’s biggest stage soon.