WATCH: Drake Jackson does a handspring into a backflip at 49ers training camp
It goes without saying that the National Football League is home to some of the finest athletes on planet Earth. One of them is former USC Trojans star Drake Jackson, whose YouTube highlight video is titled, “The FREAK”. Currently listed at 6-foot-4 inches, 273 pounds, Jackson showed exactly why they call him that in San Francisco 49ers training camp recently, turning a handspring into a backflip.
Check out the video posted by David Lombardi–the 49ers beat writer for The Athletic.
That’s just ridiculous for a player his size. It’s pretty impressive and if it’s a foreshadowing of what’s to come for the 49ers, opposing teams are going to have a serious problem on their hands.
49ers’ nine-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Trent Williams recently gave Jackson high words of praise during training camp. That’s saying something, since Williams is a lock for the Hall-of-Fame once he decides it’s time to hang up his cleats.
The former USC star was freakishly dominant off the edge in his college football career. He was able to get past opposing tackles with ease with excellent hand usage and when he did arrive at the quarterback, Jackson delivered some bone-jarring hits. He also gained a substantial amount of weight, 19 pounds from the NFL Scouting Combine to the USC Trojans’ Pro Day. That was a big reason for Jackson’s NFL Draft stock getting boosted and why the 49ers decided to pick him in the second round (No. 61 overall selection) of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Jackson had a very dominant pass rush win rate at USC
The gifted edge prospect is currently listed at 6-foot-4, 274 pounds and impressed a number of football analysts across the country with his film in the scouting process. In the 2021 season with the Trojans, Jackson racked up eight tackles for loss and five sacks. He posted his best numbers as a freshman, racking up 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks–which is impressive, considering the limited amount of pass rush opportunities he had. Jackson posted a win rate of 19 percent in pass rush situations, which is really good–not far behind some of the other top pass rushers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.