January 14, 2026
Prairie View A&M Football Coach Tremaine Jackson Feels Recruiting 18-Year-Olds Doesn’t Lead To Success
"I don’t think we can be successful and keep our jobs with a bunch of 18-year-olds.”
Prairie View A&M head coach Tremaine Jackson recently offered some food for thought at a convention, saying that a college program can’t be successful if it continues recruiting 18-year-olds when the transfer portal has available players.
According to HBCU Gameday, during a panel at the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) convention in Charlotte, Jackson emphasized the importance of accepting players who have entered the transfer portal.
“I don’t think we can be successful and keep our jobs with a bunch of 18-year-olds,” Jackson told the crowd. “I just don’t believe it. I know there are some high school coaches in the room. I’ve been recruiting high school my whole life, pretty much. I’ve been some places where we could take them. But right now, I got to get the ones that coach got that’s in the portal.”
This comes after Jackson made waves late last year via a social media post where he issued a “warning” to any athletes who wanted to be considered for his football team. He outlined several requirements, noting that the program that achieved immediate success in his first year leading Prairie View A&M.
He titled the post “Panther Portal Understanding Pt. 2.”
In Jackson’s first year as head coach, he led the team to the 2025 Celebration Bowl, where they lost to South Carolina State University 40–38 in quadruple overtime. The team won the SWAC West Title, became the 2025 SWAC Champions, and has established expectations for anyone seeking to join next year’s football squad.
Tremaine Jackson clearly expects the business to be handled immediately upon initial contact.
RELATED CONTENT: Winston-Salem State University Honors Former Football Coach, Bill Hayes, With Honorary Doctorate