USC cornerback Adoree' Jackson's athletic pursuits don't stop with college football, and Trojans coach Steve Sarkisian isn't going to stop them. Jackson is eyeing the 2016 Summer Olympics in the long-jump event after winning the Pac-12 long jump title as a freshman. And Sarkisian won't stand in his way, per the Los Angeles Times.
However, Jackson has a lot of improving to do if he hopes to represent the U.S. in Rio de Janeiro next year. He placed fifth in the NCAA Championships in June with a jump of 25 feet, 11 inches, and Sarkisian suggested he'll need to improve by more than a foot to make a legitimate run at the Olympics.
"He's got a lot of work to do to get to that caliber of a jumper," Sarkisian said. "But we'll attack that when the season's done. ... We're going to have a pretty good idea what the numbers are. If you're not jumping 27 feet, you're going to have hard time making the Olympic team."
Jackson established himself as one of the best defensive backs in the Pac-12 as a freshman last season with 10 pass breakups, and was one of the nation's top kickoff returners as well, with an average of 29.7 yards per return.
For now, he has more mastery of football than the long jump, at least when it comes to Olympic standards.
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