The high-profile twin defenders go from becoming prized transfer portal entries to reigniting the Seminoles fan base late Thursday night.
Florida State lost the Desir twins for less than 48 hours.
Now Mandrell and Darryll Desir go from leaving the Seminoles to reigniting their defense for 2026 -- by returning.
Noles247 revealed the stunning reversal late Thursday night. Their agency LAA Sports Entertainment confirmed to the outlet the twins' intentions to dip out of the transfer portal and come back to Tallahassee.
Plus it ends a wild 24 hours for both defensive linemen.
Reports revealed that their agency and the FSU staff negotiated back-and-forth about what type of NIL deal they can have moving forward. Both were on the college football version of a rookie contract.
However, rumblings surfaced that the twins were interested in leaving on Jan. 4 -- two days after the 2026 portal window officially opened. The trench defenders formally entered on Wednesday when a final deal wasn't completed.
Head coach Mike Norvell once spoke highly of both brothers and called them building blocks for the future of Seminoles football.
"The Desir brothers, obviously those two guys are -- I mean, they're producing and you're seeing the confidence of them continuing to grow," Norvell said after the Florida game.
Yet these next words painted a picture of potential congestion in the defensive line room.
"But we've got -- we played a lot of true freshmen," he said to reporters. "We're playing a lot of young players on our roster, but I believe in the talent of it, and we're going to continue to get better."
The Desirs became two of nearly 10 defensive linemen to exit out of Tallahassee. Ohio State surfaced as the rumored destination, especially with safety Earl Little Jr. drifting to the Buckeyes. FSU looked thin along the line too even with its portal entries.
Rylan Kennedy of Texas A&M rose as the prized new addition, luring College Football Playoff experience with him from his previous stop. He even stated how familiarity with edge rushers coach Nick Williams persuaded his decision to suit up for the 'Noles.
Now Kennedy won't be walking into a younger and thinner DL room after all with the twins back in the fold.
Mandrell Desir piled 30 tackles with 7.5 behind the line of scrimmage and added 6.5 sacks last season. Darryll played in 12 games and earned two starts -- ending with 23 tackles and 1.5 for a loss alongside one sack.
Now they become arguably the biggest portal victories for Florida State during this cycle.
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