John Jackson Has It All in Hand as USC’s Top Receiver

To John Jackson, it was meant as a joke. Nothing more.

As a USC freshman receiver, he was friendly with senior Hank Norman. So when Norman caught the 113th pass of his collegiate career to set the all-time Trojan record, Jackson came up, congratulated him and then added, “You only get to enjoy it a little while because I’ll get it in four years.”

Both laughed.

Last Saturday, four years later, Jackson laughed again as he retold the story.

With a new catch.

That catch, which had come less than an hour earlier, had indeed made Jackson the No. 1 receiver in USC history. Norman’s record had already fallen, to Erik Affholter last season. But Jackson caught his 124th pass Saturday, a difficult reception between two defensive backs, to surpass them both.

Jackson’s name has become a familiar sight in the team record book. Against Washington State, he caught 11 passes, a school single-game record. Against Ohio State, he caught an 87-yard touchdown pass, the longest in school history. And he needs just 238 yards to break Randy Simmrin’s school career mark of 2,015 yards.

Who would have believed it? Not John Jackson. Not either John Jackson.

Around USC, John Jackson, the receiver, is known as J.J. When football people, especially old-timers, talk about John Jackson, they are often referring to the former assistant coach who has since moved on to work in various capacities for Jerry Buss, everything from boxing to basketball to hockey.

John Jackson Sr. was on the sidelines beaming with pride Saturday, but he would be the first to tell you that if he had been listening in on the conversation between his son and Norman, he’d have laughed right along with them.

“I’m quite proud,” the elder Jackson said, “It’s quite an accomplishment, especially when you start mentioning some of the other pretty good names he passed. It means a lot to be a part of USC history. I certainly didn’t think it would happen four years ago, but then I’ve always underevaluated him.”

Since his father played college football at NYU and was an assistant at schools stretching from the East Coast to Illinois to USC, J.J. was always around the game.

“He was around people like Marcus Allen and Charles White,” Jackson’s father said. “They were strong motivators. He was highly motivated since the beginning of time.”

But the father stayed out of his son’s life. Even when it came time to pick a college after a brilliant prep career at Bishop Amat, where he was second in that school’s record book for career receptions to another former Trojan with a famous father, John McKay.

J.J. flirted with the idea of going to Boston College, where he would have been on the receiving end of throws from Doug Flutie. But he finally chose USC, which is what his father wanted all along.

But even then, the father refused to get involved in J.J.’s career.

“I have purposely tried not to coach him,” the senior Jackson said, “because I did not want to cause a conflict. Because we have always been very close, you could create a situation where the father and the coach might tell the player different ways to do something. Both ways might be right, but you don’t want to have to make him make a choice. So I’ve kept my mouth shut.”

Except when it came to academics.

“We’ve always tried to make him understand,” Jackson said, “that if he wanted to play, he would have to handle the academic work on all levels. He has always accepted that.”

In the age of Prop 48, J.J. has been on the other end of the academic scale, handling his classroom obligations with the same skill he has demonstrated in dealing with defensive backs.

Named to a seemingly endless list of all-academic teams, the younger Jackson graduated from USC last spring with a bachelor’s degree in business finance and a 3.3 grade-point average. He is now studying for a master’s degree in business administration, a requirement that takes up about 30 hours a week.

Where does he find the time? He’s not sure.

“When you take these courses,” Jackson said, “they assume you don’t have anything else to do. People warned me about how difficult it would be, but I just sort of blew it off. Now that I’m in, I realize how serious they were.

“But telling me I can’t do something is like telling me to do it.”

What Jackson will do in the future is hard to say. He is thinking about pro football for the first time. He has a good chance, if he is so inclined, to play professional baseball. An All-Pacific 10 player with a .360 batting average, he was drafted last year by the Angels but elected to stay in school.

And down the road, both he and his father say, it would be nice if he wound up using his business knowledge in the Buss organization.

But one change in the Jackson household already seems permanent.

“He used to be John Jackson’s son,” said the elder of the two. “Now, I’m John Jackson’s father.”

Medical Alert: The Trojans won the battle Saturday but are slowly losing the war of attrition.

The latest:

--Defensive halfback Marvin Pollard, who suffered torn ligaments in his left knee, is out not only out for the season, but perhaps for as long as a year. Pollard’s knee had to be totally reconstructed.

--Tailback Aaron Emanuel, whose left shoulder was sprained, is not expected to play this week.

--Tailback Scott Lockwood, out since opening day with a dislocated thumb, remains sidelined.

--Strong safety Cleveland Colter is expected to play despite suffering a hairline fracture of the right thumb.

It all sounds like a script from General Hospital.

The news is not entirely bleak, however. Don Gibson, the starting nose guard until he blew out a knee before the season, continues to make progress and could be available in two weeks.

THE RIVALRY CONTINUES BRET JOHNSON The El Toro grad helped the Bruins remain unbeaten in the Pac-10 race, but for the second straight week the offense sputtered. Arizona State saw the red-shirt freshman complete 16 of 30 passes for 165 yards. Two of his completions went for touchdowns. SEASON STATISTICS Five-game totals PASSING: 84 of 137, 9 TDs, 5 INT YARDS PASSING: 986 RUSHING: 17 for 37 yards, 1 TD TODD MARINOVICH Another big day for the redhead from Capistrano Valley High. He threw for 284 yards - a season high - in the Trojans’ big win over Washington. Putting the ball into the air 35 times, he completed 23. One was for a touchdown. He scored his first rushing touchdown of the season from one yard out. SEASON STATISTICS Five-game totals PASSING: 88 of 143, 8 TDs, 3 INT YARDS PASSING: 1,014 RUSHING: 26 for - 17 yards, 1 TD