Football Remains Priority for USC’s Jackson

John Jackson has always said that he’s a football player playing baseball. Apparently, NFL clubs doubted him.

Jackson, USC’s career pass catching and receiving yardage leader, was ignored through 12 rounds of the recent NFL draft.

“I guess they (NFL teams) didn’t want to draft someone who might not show up,” Jackson said Tuesday.

Jackson is a center fielder on the USC baseball team. He is batting .322, second best on the team, and is the school career leader in stolen bases with 52.

Jackson said that he was told by NFL people that he was projected as a third- to fifth-round draft choice.

When he wasn’t drafted, Jackson said he was more confused than disappointed.

However, he said he has been contacted by several NFL teams that he would not identify in regard to signing him as a free agent.

“If I have a good situation at the right time, I’ll make the team,” Jackson said of his NFL prospects. “I’m still pursuing my opportunities to play football. I have confidence in my ability.”

And he should, considering that he set a Pacific 10 Conference record by catching passes in 37 consecutive games and established a school record with 14 catches against Notre Dame last year. He also had 200 receiving yards in that game, a Notre Dame opponent’s record.

Jackson said he was confused when he saw the list of receivers who were drafted.

“I’ve played with some of them and I’ve seen them,” he said. “They might not even be recruited by USC much less be drafted.”

Jackson stands 5 feet 11 and weighs 175 pounds. He admits that he’s not a sprinter-type receiver and that might have influenced NFL personnel in downgrading him as a prospect.

He participated in the NFL combine evaluation workouts last February in Indianapolis.

“I got good feedback there. I ran 4.59 seconds for the 40, but I’ve run faster,” he said. “I think people were comfortable about my catching the ball and the pass routes.”

However, Jackson believes that the main reason he was overlooked was the misconception that baseball was his first priority.

“I don’t think they (NFL teams) wanted to get in a bidding war with baseball, and that made people shy away,” Jackson said.

The major league baseball draft is in June, but Jackson wants to explore the free-agent market in pro football first.

Jackson played for USC last season as a graduate student. He has received numerous academic honors, among them the NCAA award given to the top six student athletes in the country.