USC DE Drake Jackson: 'I just came out and did what I had to do'

Ask Drake Jackson's father Dennis and he'll tell you this moment had been in the works for 18 years.

"Drake Jackson from the University of Southern California, starting linebacker -- when he was born, that was going to be his name," Dennis said back in January soon before his son moved to campus. "They wouldn't let me put it on the birth certificate, it was too long."

For most everybody else, this moment had been in the making since Jackson's first practices with USC in March. Yeah, it was fairly obvious then that the now 6-foot-4, 275-pound true freshman defensive end was going to make an immediate impact for the Trojans.

Which is indeed what happened Saturday night in his college debut as he racked up 1.5 tackles for loss, two passes batted down at the line, a half sack and 3 total tackles in USC's 31-23 win over Fresno State. That somehow doesn't even capture it, though, as Jackson and the Trojans in general left even more unfinished plays in the backfield.

But in case anyone hadn't yet bought into the hype on Jackson, well, Saturday night should have been all the proof needed.

"I just came out and did what I had to do and how I prepared for it," Jackson said afterward. "... It's just all in the preparation. That's what we practice for and it just happened in a game. It's just executing."

Jackson's first true impact moment came on the Trojans' fifth defensive series. He had come unblocked off the left edge of the defensive line and already had his hand on Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers as he was securing the handoff, ultimately resuting in a 4-yard tackle for loss.

On the very next play, Jackson beat his man off the edge to get in the backfield and disrupt things again, but he couldn't quite finish this time. The offensive lineman held him up just enough at the end for QB Jorge Reyna to start moving up in the pocket, and while Jackson got a hand on him from behind he couldn't bring him down as Reyna scrambled for 4 yards. But essentially, Jackson had created a net-zero gain for the Bulldogs while interfering with consecutive plays.

Now he was warmed up.

"I had to clear my mind at first because I had a lot of stuff -- I'm a freshman," Jackson said, noting the impact of his first game in the Coliseum. "I just had to clear my mind, but once I cleared my mind it was just butter -- it was easy."

That's kind of how he made it look the rest of the way.

On the next defensive series, Jackson blew past the right tackle and running back to again chase Reyna off his spot. This time he had a clear sack in the making before the elusive QB wiggled loose, but safety Isaiah Pola-Mao would trip him up behind the line to finish the third-down sack for the Trojans. Jackson clapped his hands in seeming frustration knowing how close he was to finishing the job himself.

"That guy's a beast," Pola-Mao would say of Jackson. "He's going to do whatever he can to get to the ball. Whether it's coming out of a stack on a screen or chasing down the quarterback, he's going to get it done."

And he wasn't done. Jackson drilled Reyna as he released a pass early in the third quarter. The completion left the Bulldogs short on third down and forced them to settle for a field goal, and it's possible if Reyna had more time to hold on to that ball the play could have developed differently. That's one that won't register on the stat sheet, but is part of Jackson's impact nonetheless.

Two series later, Jackson really took over. On a second-and-4, he batted down Reyna's pass at the line and on third down he came around defensive tackle Jay Tufele on a stunt and looked to have another clear sack before Reyna got just enough out of the way to stay upright. But not for long as Brandon Pili drove him into the turf to complete the sack.

"I missed those sacks and I'm just going to get in the lab, start grinding out and get them next week," Jackson would say later.

It wasn't just Jackson, though. Safety Talanoa Hufanga had near sack, fellow defensive end Christian Rector had opportunities. The positive was the pressure that USC was generating up front, largely just from its defensive line.

"We had 3 sacks on the night and we really thought we could get as many as 8 on the night. We let him out of our grasp 5 or 6 times,' coach Clay Helton said. "... We did not pressure a ton in that game, and our four-man rush was making him get out of the pocket and get off his spot, which is a really good thing. Now we would absolutely love to get him down on the ground. We had that opportunity and we'll have it again this week."

As for Jackson, he'd bat down another Reyna pass at the line late in the game, and in general just validated all the hype and optimism he had created in the spring and summer. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best defensive player for USC on Saturday night with a 73.3 (on a 1-100 scale).

"He showed me a lot. He showed me he's primed for the spotlight and big-time college football," Rector said. "I think defensively as a whole we missed a lot of tackles, I missed a lot of tackles, I missed a couple sacks, he missed a couple sacks. So I think as a group we're going to look to improve on that. But I think it was a good performance defensively."

Jackson, meanwhile, was just keeping it all in perspective afterward.

After all, this is what he'd been working for since the spring -- or since birth, if you ask his father. While his recruitment took some twists and turns and he truly didn't know if he was going to choose USC or Arizona State until moments before his announcement in December, there's been no looking back since.

His first game in the Coliseum seemed to further affirm his decision.

"It felt like home. This is where I need to be, this is where I'm meant to be," Jackson said.