USC Football Star, Adoree' Jackson, Forgoes Spring Season to Pursue Olympic Dream
Adoree' Jackson, USC star football player, will opt out of the Trojans' spring practice to pursue his dream of making the Olympics. He'll be attempting to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team as a long jumper. USC Football coach, Clay Helton, said that Jackson would be excused from spring practices, just as he was promised when he was recruited.
"I've always believed if you're going to be a master at something, you've got to work at it, and don't be a jack of all trades," Helton said, via The Los Angeles Times. "When you get the opportunity to go work for the Olympics, you need to go work at that."
Last year, Jackson won the Pac-12 conference championship in the long jump with a jump of 25 feet and 3 inches, that according to Yahoo! Sports. He bested that mark at the NCAA championships with a jump of 25 feet and 11 inches, good enough for a fifth-place finish.
However, if Jackson is to qualify for the Olympics, his personal best will have to improve by some margin. The qualifying mark for the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials is 26 feet and 5 inches, that according to The Los Angeles Times. Furthermore, at last year's U.S. championships, the top three jumpers (the number that will go to the Olympics) leaped no less than 27 feet and 7 inches, with the winner jumping nearly 28 and a half feet.
On the football field, Jackson's contributions are immeasurable. Along with his defensive qualities, he also stars on offense, and returned kicks. In total, he scored five touchdowns last season--two on offense, two on kick returns, and one on an interception. It's no wonder why Jackson had a hard time deciding what to do this spring.
"If it was up to me--where my heart is--I would want to go out there," Jackson said, in regards to missing spring football, via The Los Angeles Times. "I'll just see what's best overall for me and for the team.
Ultimately, though, the prospect of fulfilling an Olympic dream turned out to be too much to turn down. For now, football can wait.