Dynamic USC freshman Jackson goes through refresher course before Holiday Bowl
Each week Adoree' Jackson has a refresher course and offensive coordinator Clay Helton is the professor.
Jackson, the Pac-12's Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, has also been a contributor for the USC offense in the slot and even out of the backfield.
Practice wraps up. Helton acts as the quarterback and barks out signals against an invisible defense. Depending on what Helton calls out, Jackson lines up accordingly.
The freshman lines up wide. He lines up in the slot. He lines up in the backfield.
Helton throws an invisible ball and Jackson makes every catch.
It gets him ready for what the offensive plan may offer him in a given week.
"We've done that every week to always have a little package for him whether it's being put in there as a playmaker or as a decoy to drag defenders away," Helton said. "Obviously, he's a dynamic athlete that's done a great job on the defensive side of the ball but he also produces touchdowns for us when given.
"Everytime there's a little wrinkle or two that you mix in especially with that type of athleticism, that type of speed. You try to get some matchups that you like."
Breakdown: Holiday Bowl, USC vs. Nebraska, Saturday, 5 p.m.
As dominant, at times, as Jackson has been on the defensive end of the ball for the Trojans this season, he's showed glimpses of his effectiveness on the offensive side.
This season, the freshman is averaging 9.3 yards per catch and has two receiving touchdowns.
He finds the refresher course helpful.
"It just (puts it in) my memory so I know in the game what I need to do and I don't freeze up out there," the freshman said.
Coaches mention all the time how "hard" it is for freshmen to come in and play right away. And that's just on one side of the ball. Jackson, who also has a kickoff return for a touchdown, has managed to contribute on offense, defense, and special teams.
It's a balancing act he's been able to manage in his first year on campus. How he's been able to do so, however, in his eyes is simple.
"It's nothing too much for me," Jackson said. "I just hurry up and learn them."
Helton has a better description.
"He's an extremely smart football player," the offensive coordinator said. "We saw that when he was at Serra playing both ways. There was sometimes he went 120 plays in a game at Serra playing both ways so I think it comes natural to him. He's a football instinctive guy.
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"I'm glad he's here. I'm glad we're not playing against him, I know that."
Not bad for the kid who moved west from Belleville, Illinois solely with the thought of improving as a long jumper. Football was more or less a backdrop. Over time he developed into one of the premiere high school football players in the country.
A major coup for Steve Sarkisian's initial recruiting class as USC's head coach, Jackson hasn't disappointed both on the field and off as the team heads into the Holiday Bowl.
He's balanced all that's come his way and, of course, the refresher courses have helped.
