As the Minnesota Vikings continue their training camp and move toward the regular season, thoughts of Khyree Jackson often weigh heavily on those who knew him best.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores followed Jackson closely during his time at Oregon, watched every game he played, and met with him frequently from the Senior Bowl through the NFL draft and spring practices.
“I was really excited about coaching him and getting him here. I think he had a bright future,” Flores said. “It’s still something that gives me a pit in my stomach.
It’s still something that I’m dealing with internally — like this entire organization is, like I know his family and friends are — but I hope they can take a little comfort in knowing that he certainly impacted a lot of people in a very positive way.”
Flores, along with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell, and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones, will attend Jackson’s funeral in Maryland on Friday. The service will honor Jackson, his former high school teammate Isaiah Hazel, and a third friend, A.J. Lytton, who were killed in a car crash three weeks ago.
“We’re starting training camp and everyone’s excited about that, but I think that situation puts a lot of things in perspective and definitely makes you realize there are a lot of things that are much bigger than football,” Flores said on Thursday before the team’s second practice of camp.
Jackson was drafted in the fourth round as the 108th overall pick, known for his skills in press coverage and run stopping, which fit well with Flores’ aggressive scheme.
After winning two state championships as a wide receiver at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Jackson had to take a different path due to academic issues. He first attended Arizona Western Community College but returned to Maryland after a few weeks, feeling so embarrassed by his dropout that he stayed at home for about six months.
He got a job in the deli section at a Harris Teeter supermarket, where he sliced ham and even won an employee of the month award.
He became so skilled at video games that he thought about joining the NBA 2K esports league and was training for a tournament when he received a call from Fort Scott Community College about returning to football. He played there in 2019 after a two-year break, switched to cornerback, and quickly got back on track for major college football.
After joining East Mississippi Community College and dealing with the pandemic shutdowns, Jackson moved to Alabama. He started in the national championship game after the 2021 season, and a year later, he transferred to Oregon to finish his college career.
“I have my moments where I get down. When you think about all that he had been through to get to this point, that’s a lot of what I loved about the player,” Flores said, adding later: “He certainly had some things in his life that I thought were going to propel him to doing some great things.”
Although there is no direct comparison between death and injury, the Vikings are struggling at cornerback after Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL in practice on Wednesday.
“This is a player who’s absolutely crushed. Obviously it’s been unfortunate with the Khyree Jackson situation at that position and for our team,” O’Connell said. “For a young player, he really established himself as a guy we were going to be counting on.”
The Vikings placed Blackmon on season-ending injured reserve on Thursday and signed cornerback Jacobi Francis to help improve their depth. Francis joined the league with Houston in 2022 as an undrafted free agent from Memphis and was released by the Texans last year.
Blackmon, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft from USC, played his way into the nickel package last season, allowing Byron Murphy Jr. to move from the outside to the slot.
The Vikings plan to pair Murphy with another veteran, Shaq Griffin, in the two main cornerback spots, but they will need more from players like Akayleb Evans and Andrew Booth Jr. to maintain their pass coverage and avoid a repeat of last season’s issues.
