Seahawks mourn the tragic death of former Oregon star and Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson

Khyree Jackson, rookie cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings, was one of three people killed in a horrific car crash in his home state of Maryland.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, 24-year-old Jackson and his former high school teammates Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton Jr. were driving a Dodge Charger in Prince George’s County when they were struck by an Infiniti Q50 driven by Cori Clingman. Hazel and Jackson were pronounced dead at the scene, while Lytton succumbed to his injuries at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center.

According to a statement from the Maryland State Police, “investigators believe Clingman was attempting to change lanes at a high rate of speed when she struck the Dodge Charger” and another vehicle. No one in Clingman’s vehicle was injured, nor was the sole occupant of the other vehicle, which was also struck. Police suspect alcohol played a role in the crash, but as of this writing, charges are pending against Clingman.

Selected early in the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings, Jackson was on track to become one of their exciting new cornerbacks under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who has been with the team for two years. While Jackson played two years at Alabama, he made a name for himself as an All-Pac 12 standout at the University of Oregon.

There were numerous tributes and condolences from the football community, including from the Seattle Seahawks.

Jackson’s path to the NFL required incredible perseverance. As he told reporters at the time, Jackson worked behind the deli counter after briefly quitting football while playing at Arizona Western College. He soon landed at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, then joined Nick Saban’s Alabama elite and became a star player at Oregon.

From Vikings.com:

In 2018, Jackson had not played football for two seasons and had just been named “Employee of the Month” by his local grocery store, Harris Teeter.

“I worked in the deli department,” Jackson told Twin Cities media representatives via video conference Saturday. “So I sliced ​​ham and stuff.”

(…)

After mentally giving up football and focusing on his job at the grocery store and the NBA 2K League (he made the top 250 and was preparing for a draft in New York), Jackson was offered a second chance to play at Fort Scott Community College in 2019.

And just like that, he was back on the field – but as a receiver.

“I went back and played receiver at first. I felt like I had gained my coach’s trust, and then I went into his office and told him, ‘You know, I wanted to play cornerback,'” Jackson said. “I let him know, ‘You know, I’m in junior college, I have to perform to get out of here. … At least I can kind of control my own destiny.'”

At 6’3″ and 195 lbs, Jackson is not a normal-sized cornerback.

However, he has used his length (and 78-inch wingspan) to his advantage and used his size effectively, which helped him transition from JUCO ball to Alabama as a backup under Nick Saban and then to Oregon as a full-time starter last season.

This month should have been Khyree Jackson’s first NFL training camp. Instead, his life and those of his friends and former high school teammates Hazel and Lytton Jr. were needlessly cut short.

Our sincere condolences also go out to the families and friends of all the victims of this tragedy.