Former Wise High School football coach DeLawn Parrish said he was inspired by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Khyree Jackson and his high school teammates Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton Jr., who were all tragically killed in a three-vehicle crash on Saturday in Maryland.
Parrish, who is now the football coach at Westlake High School in Waldorf, Md., coached and taught all three at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Md. Parrish was grateful for the time he had with the young men and told WRC-TV in Washington Jackson’s “belief in himself was incredible.”
Jackson’s grandfather, Anthony Jackson, was among family and friends who came to the scene of the crash. Anthony Jackson told WRC-TV the family was incredibly proud of his grandson’s achievements, which came after a lot of hard work and a long journey.
“(Khyree Jackson was) doing the best that he could possibly do in life and with the family,” Anthony Jackson told WRC-TV.
After high school, Jackson attended Arizona Western College to play football, but got homesick and took a break from the sport while working at a grocery store back in Maryland. He wasn’t thinking about football much at the time, but later played at Fort Scott Community College.
From there, he got a Division I opportunity at Alabama and eventually transferred to Oregon, where he put together a standout senior season that resulted in him being drafted by the Vikings with the No. 108 overall pick in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.
Anthony Jackson said his grandson “always had high aspirations.”
“We’re going to try to get through this as best as we possibly can,” he told WRC-TV.
