Antwuan Jackson knew the drill.

The Auburn transfer at least understood why the Tigers blocked him from transferring to an SEC school. Fair or not, many programs prevent intra-conference transfers to avoid any possibility of inside information being shared. That’s the system.

What Jackson didn’t expect was for Auburn to also restrict him from attending a B1G school. Well, just one B1G school.

According to The State, Jackson was restricted by Auburn from transferring to any other SEC school, Clemson, Mercer, Georgia Southern — all three are non-conference foes — and Ohio State.

Color Jackson confused.

“My question was: Why are they blocking Ohio State for no reason?” Jackson said via The State. “They just put Ohio State on there for no reason. My question to them is why are they blocking me from a Big Ten school when they don’t have anything to do with Big Ten schools? Why didn’t they block me from Michigan or Indiana or any other Big Ten school?

“Why would they do that immediately?”

It’s an interesting question. Ohio State doesn’t have any future matchups with Auburn.

Jackson, a former U.S. Army All-American who redshirted his first and only season at Auburn, was one of Ohio State’s top targets as the No. 7 defensive tackle in the 2016 class. Some projected in the 247sports crystal ball that he’d end up in Columbus.

Still, did Auburn restrict Ohio State because there was mutual interest when he was a recruit? That question can’t be answered.

For what it’s worth, Jackson told The State that South Carolina would be his top transfer destination if his appeal is granted. He might not have even considered Ohio State anyway.

If he isn’t allowed a clean transfer, Jackson said he would enroll at a non-restricted school or perhaps attend junior college for a year.

If there’s more than Jackson’s side of the story in regard to Ohio State, perhaps it’ll come to light in the next few days. For now, it just looks like an odd move from Auburn.