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Former Oregon star and Vikings rookie CB Khyree Jackson dies in car crash

Theo

Khyree Jackson, a recently drafted cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings, died in a car crash early Saturday at the age of 24. The team confirmed the news and Maryland State Police confirmed the details of the accident, which occurred in Prince George’s County.

Police said the crash also killed Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton, two of Jackson’s high school teammates. Hazel was the driver of the vehicle, the statement said.

Investigators believe the car Jackson was in was struck by another vehicle attempting to change lanes at a high rate of speed. They believe alcohol may have played a role in the accident.

Jackson was drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round over Oregon. And hours before the Vikings drafted Khyree Jackson in April, he was hopping around the mall. He was returning clothes. He was trying on other designer pieces. He was chatting with the store managers and probably making them laugh.

After the Vikings called and told him they would select him in the fourth round, he FaceTimed his mother, Ebbony.

“Mom, are you all watching?”

“That’s us,” she replied. “Did you get the call?”

“Are you watching?” he asked again, his crooked smile coming through the phone.

“Wait,” asked Ebbony, “are you still at the mall?”

He laughed. His image flashed on his family’s television. Ebbony shrieked. As Khyree left the mall and drove home from Tysons Corner to Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to celebrate, his mother replayed many of the moments. The drive through the desert to drop Khyree off at Arizona Western. Meeting longtime Alabama football coach Nick Saban over Zoom. She snuggled into the couch and shook her head. Tears. They flowed steadily.

“I was just so happy,” she recalled a few months ago. “So proud.”

Overwhelmed by the path Khyree had taken. What he had overcome. His talent, his faith helped him overcome it. The promise was undeniable. And all of that – a story that should have had a happy ending – is what makes Saturday’s news so tragic.

“I am heartbroken by the loss of Khyree,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement Saturday. “When we got to know him leading up to the draft, it was clear what goals Khyree wanted to achieve both professionally and personally. His story was one of resilience.”

Jackson attended five schools and three junior colleges. He gave up football once, worked at Chipotle, envisioned a professional career as an NBA 2K player and even sliced ​​deli meats at Harris Teeter, where he was named the supermarket’s manager of the month. An impromptu call from a coach at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas reignited his football dream. There he met former NFL cornerback Joey Thomas, who once watched the 6-foot-4, 190-pound receiver swing his hips and said, “He could be a star cornerback.”

Khyree agreed… because of course he did.

“Some kids look over and say, ‘I don’t want it,'” said DaLawn Parrish, Khyree’s high school coach. “Not Khyree. He says, ‘Put her up.’ He thinks he was a five-star recruit.”

After a stint at East Mississippi Community College, Alabama saw him that way. Saban scheduled a Zoom video conference with Khyree, Ebbony and Khyree’s father, Raymond. The Crimson Tide offered Khyree an offer. He arrived on campus and held his own alongside highly touted prospects Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Khyree stayed for two seasons and then transferred to Oregon, where he became a favorite of head coach Dan Lanning.

“If you were to design a team in ‘Madden,’ you would want your former team to look like this,” Lanning said.

A former Alabama employee, Drew Svodoba, said, “If he can pull all that off, this guy is… I’m talking about an incredible talent.”

The Vikings thought so, and had defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones meet with Khyree at the Senior Bowl. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores prioritized him in pre-draft meetings and the Vikings ultimately selected him. Khyree told his story in a post-draft interview session with members of the local media.

Ebbony recounted a phrase she and Khyree often said to each other.

“Just another chapter of what?” asked Ebbony.

“My story,” Khyree replied. “My story.”

Khyree showed promise in spring training, and just this week the Vikings coaches sent him text messages telling him how much they expected from him for the upcoming season.

“We just texted each other,” a Vikings coach said Saturday. “I’m in tears.”

Required reading

(Photo: John E. Moore III / Getty Images)

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