The knee surgery that wiped out most of his senior high school season and the subsequent physical setbacks through the recovery process were certainly a major obstacle in Domani Jackson's first season at USC last fall.

But they weren't the only obstacle for the five-star prospect.

When Jackson did get on the field for parts of seven games -- including 45 snaps on defense -- he admittedly wasn't the same confidently assured player he had been at Mater Dei HS while turning himself into a top-20 national prospect.

He suddenly had much more to think about and process, even when he wasn't thinking about his repaired patellar tendon.

"Coming in, it was a lot," Jackson said, offering a candid assessment of his transition to college football. "Because I was just told at Mater Dei to just get in front of the dude and don't let him go down the field, but here you've got to learn techniques -- Cover 2, Cover 3, man, press technique, off press, just a whole bunch of techniques that I never really knew. ...

"It was a lot. [When] I was on the field, I think I'd overthink, which would cause bad technique and just bad reps. But this year I think as a group we're really good, we answer every question correctly, everyone on the field knows what we're doing, every check."

Everything is different this year, Jackson says.

First and foremost, he feels 100 percent healthy and no longer keeps lingering thoughts in his mind about that significant injury that largely derailed two years of his football career.

"Most definitely, I'm 100 percent normal again. So I don't really worry about my knee anymore," he said. "... Just focus on getting on the field."

And just as important, when he's on the field, he's no longer overthinking or second-guessing himself. He's starting to play freely again.

"This offseason I took that super serious, locked into the playbook and now I'm good. ... Donte helped a lot," Jackson said of USC DBs coach Donte Williams. "We'd have separate meetings from our [group] meetings, just to make sure I really knew, understand what I was saying and what I saw. So I think Donte helped a lot."

Now, Jackson is squarely in the camp competition for one of the starting cornerback jobs with more experienced veterans Ceyair Wright and Jacobe Covington the only obstacles in his way these days. (Perhaps along with Arizona transfer Christian Roland-Wallace, who could always end up back at corner but is working at nickel to open camp).

With each successive practice, Jackson is looking and feeling more like the guy who was highly coveted by college football's biggest programs, from Alabama to Michigan to USC and countless others in between.