Florida State’s Star Brothers Nearly Gone: What Made Them Stay?

The college football transfer portal swung wide open on January 2, 2026, and boy, has it been a whirlwind since. Now, if you’re keeping an eye on Florida State, you’ve probably been biting your nails wondering if the Seminoles could hold onto their prized defensive duo—the Desir twins. These two freshmen, Mandrell and Darryll, who tore it up on the line last season, were inching toward hopping on the transfer train… only to do a complete 180 and stick around for the 2026 grind. In a world where player movement feels more like a reality show than a season build-up, Florida State pulling back these star brothers is a humungous deal. Can this be the spark the Seminoles need after a bumpy 5-7 campaign and a make-or-break year for Coach Norvell? With Mandrell’s Freshman All-America creds and their combined muscle on defense, Tallahassee just might be the place to watch this offseason. Curious about the full saga and what it means for FSU’s defense? LEARN MORE.

The transfer portal opened in college football on Jan. 2, 2026, and a lot of crazy has already happened over the past two weeks. One of the teams to watch has been the Florida State football program and how they were going to revamp their roster, especially after how active they have been in the past. Most recently, they were about to lose a pair of brothers, but managed to hang on to both of them.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported that after both Mandrell and Darryll Desir initially announced their intention to enter the transfer portal. The twin brothers were highly ranked defensive linemen who were freshmen last season. Mandrell was higher ranked than Darryll, and saw more playing time, but they were a package deal and wanted to transfer out for more time, before the Seminoles convinced them to come back.

The pair officially entered the portal together on Jan. 14, but the next day, they retracted that decision and decided to return to Tallahassee for the 2026 season. It was a big win for Florida State to hang onto both after the pair combined for 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks as true freshmen. Mandrell had 30 tackles, 13 solos, 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Then, Darryll had 23 total tackles, eight solos, and one sack.

Mandrell earned Freshman All-America honors in 2025, and each has a bright future in college football. Now, it appears that they’ll continue their career in Tallahassee. They are Florida natives who came from Miami and have a chance to make their mark in Tallahassee.

Florida State needs all the help it can get to improve upon its disappointing 5-7 finish in 2025. It is also a make-or-break season for head coach Mike Norvell, who was retained despite the disappointment.

The Seminoles had a roller coaster year after they shocked Alabama in Week 1 and shot up the rankings, but it was downhill from there after they could not maintain the consistency.

Retaining Mandrell and Darryll only fortifies a defense that still has a lot of talent and has a chance to get much better with their additions from the transfer portal.

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