Drake Jackson knew.

There was a brief moment before his dazzling interception in which he had to make a decision: rush the quarterback or sit on the screen. He chose the latter and then managed to pluck the ball out of thin air with his left paw and return it 39 yards for a pick-six. It was the best play of spring practice and yet just another great one from the true freshman defensive end.

"One of those special, special plays," Coach Clay Helton remarked after Saturday's Spring Showcase at Cromwell Field.

The dynamic athleticism is undeniable and is what will draw the eyes. But what impressed me most is how shrewd of a play Jackson made. He had a free lane at Jack Sears after the offensive tackle released, which clearly clicked for Jackson that it was a screen. So he sat in his spot and essentially baited Sears into making a costly mistake when the QB simply trusted the play design.

Jackson, who also sacked Matt Fink earlier in the scrimmage, has sprinkled that preternatural savvy on 11-on-11 periods throughout the past four weeks. It's the kind of play Su'a Cravens or Leonard Williams would make. The latter is the only USC defensive lineman from the past decade who as a freshman resembled what Jackson is doing.

"He reminds me a lot of Leonard, where Leonard was, just a grown man as an 18-year old," Helton said. "To come out here in this type of atmosphere, your first time out and have fans around and have cameras around, and make big plays like that. Not only that one play but he was playing in the backfield all day."

Jackson is actually still 17. He turns 18 next Friday. Moreover, Big Cat did not arrive at USC until the summer of 2012, shortly after turning 18. As the great Derek Zoolander once said, we shouldn't even be talking about it.