Tag: John Jackson

Former Trojan John Jackson III signs with Bears after rookie minicamp

John Jackson III, a close friend of Caleb Williams, tries to stick with the Bears.

John Jackson III was one of six players who participated in last week’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis to sign a contract with the Chicago Bears, the team announced Monday. Jackson led Nevada in catches last season after spending four seasons at USC. With the Trojans, Jackson became best friends with quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick by Chicago in this year’s draft.

“Caleb is actually probably my best friend,” Jackson said last August. “One thing about him I will say because I know him on a personal level is he’s competitive. He kind of reads what people say, so he will definitely come out with a chip on his shoulder,” he said in an interview with Nevada Sports Net

Jackson III caught 35 passes for 267 yards (7.6 yards per catch) for Nevada in 2023. During his four seasons at USC, Jackson caught five passes for 42 yards, putting his career totals at 40 catches for 309 yards (7.7 yards per catch).

Jackson’s father, John, played four seasons in the NFL, including one year with the Bears in 1996. He also spent three seasons with the Cardinals from 1990-92. Between those stints, Jackson played minor-league baseball, reaching the Triple-A level with the Angels and Twins organizations.

“I’m excited for him and this opportunity,” Williams said Friday when asked about Jackson. “We’ve been working hard trying to dig into the playbook and things like that because he’s in a situation where he’s coming in here trying out. Just getting in here working hard, getting after it.”

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Michael Block wasn’t the only one who had his biggest payday at the 2023 PGA Championship. His caddie did too

Caddie John Jackson did some math on the calculator app on his phone after Block finished T-15.

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Club pro Michael Block wasn’t the only one who cashed the biggest check of his life at the 105th PGA Championship on Sunday.

His caddie, John Jackson, did the math on the calculator app of his phone  Sunday evening after Block finished T-15, the best result by a club pro since 1986, and earned $288,333. Jackson’s take home: $20,183.31.

In a video that was posted on social media, Block looks at the figure (7 percent of Block’s winnings) on Jackson’s phone, smiles widely, slaps him five and gives him knuckles.

“It’s been unreal, surreal, literally a dream, a movie, whatever,” Jackson said Sunday as Block was honored at the 18th green for being the low finisher among the club pros. “Mike and I were pinching ourselves going down the fairways. It was weird. The whole thing is crazy.”

Jackson’s regular job is caddying for resort guests at Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach, California, where he’s looped full-time since 2017. In college, Jackson played for the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters and was part of the NCAA Division II National Championship team in 2011.

Block was one of 20 PGA professionals to qualify for the PGA Championship. He is a 10-time Southern California PGA Player of the Year and the reigning PGA Professional of the Year. Jackson and Block met as competitors at a California State Open around 10 years ago. Block played at the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational one year and Jackson got on his bag and they almost won.

Jackson had previously worked a few majors, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – but only for amateurs – and the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Open for the last 15 years. Jackson caddied for Block at the PGA at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last year during the practice rounds but got promoted to full status at Oak Hill.

“He called me and said, ‘Do you want to do the whole week this year?’ And we made it the whole week,” Jackson said.

Of Block’s hole-in-one, Jackson noted that he hadn’t made a putt all day. “I said, ‘Just hit it closer,’ ” Jackson recalled.

He did, flying a 7-iron at 15 directly into the cup.

“I wasn’t helping much because I was pumping him up,” Jackson said.

Initially, Jackson planned to decompress on Monday and Tuesday and get back to reality. He said he had some vacationers who had requested work. That all changed when Block was offered a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, which got underway Thursday. Jackson is back on the bag for another Tour start and a chance for another gigantic payday.

“I’d do it again right now if I could,” Jackson said Sunday.

It turns out he didn’t have to wait that long.

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USC radio analyst and football commentator John Jackson evaluates Year 1 under Lincoln Riley

John Jackson joined @TJAltimore @TPrangleyJr & @LBCTrojan at the @VoiceOfCFB to discuss the 2022 #USC season. He also shared a Bo Schembechler 1990 #RoseBowl anecdote.

This is a really fun and interesting conversation for USC football fans to watch and listen to.

John Jackson, a key part of USC’s 1989 Pac-10 championship team under head coach Larry Smith, helped the Trojans defeat Bo Schembechler and Michigan in the 1990 Rose Bowl, which was Bo’s very last game after two decades as Michigan head coach.

Jackson shared a Bo Schembechler anecdote in a conversation with Tony Altimore, Tim Prangley, and Rick Anaya at The Voice of College Football. He primarily discussed Lincoln Riley’s impact on USC football this past year, evaluating the progression of the program and the various plot points from the past season. Jackson discussed the 2022 team’s many successes but also the inability to contain Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid.

You’ll learn a lot from this conversation with a treasured USC Trojan. It lasts just over half an hour:

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