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In the middle of one of USC's spring practices a few weeks ago, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast walked over to the side of the field where the parents stand to chat with Dennis Jackson, the father of freshman phenom Drake Jackson.
Pendergast hadn't worked with the young defensive end/outside linebacker long at that point -- but long enough.
"He goes, 'Oh my gosh, he's great. He's everything we wanted.' He goes, 'He's three-and-done, he's special,'" the elder Jackson recalls proudly.
That wasn't an isolated conversation, though. He's heard that a lot this spring.
"Chad comes up to me and he says the same thing," Dennis adds, referring to defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a. "Most every time I talk to someone up there, even [Clay] Helton, they say he's special, he's three-and-done. I've heard that from a lot of people."
Aside from the intrigue surrounding new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and his version of the Air Raid, it's fair to say Jackson -- the 4-star newcomer from Corona Centennial High School -- was the talk of the spring for the Trojans.
Trojans legend Ronnie Lott even retweeted a video of the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Jackson doing a backflip, adding "My goodness." Pendergast and Helton, meanwhile, both compared Jackson to Leonard Williams, the former star USC defensive end who left after his junior season to become the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
"Just a grown man as an 18-year-old," Helton commented.
Jackson's roommate, sophomore linebacker Palaie Gaoteote, further gushed to reporters about the rookie this spring, more or less echoing the same comments Pendergast had shared with Dennis Jackson weeks earlier.
"I think he's a first-round talent," Gaoteote said matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't be shocked if he leaves in three years. He's something very special."
This was always the plan, Dennis Jackson says. His son starring at the program the family always rooted for, garnering accolades and making a name for himself in the cardinal and gold.
But even the elder Jackson has to admit, he couldn't have expected it to go exactly like this.
"It's been almost like a tearjerker every day, man. … It's been like surreal," he says during the final week of spring practice. "I knew eventually it would come -- not this soon, honestly."
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