Khyree Jackson ‘was one of those guys you wanted to be around every day’

“I know if Khyree was here today, he wouldn’t tell me to cry,” Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson said on Wednesday night. “He’d tell me to suck it up.”

But there were tears during a candlelight vigil for Khyree Jackson at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, where the Ducks football team gathered with fans to remember the former Oregon cornerback.

Jackson died on Saturday morning in a traffic accident back home in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. A member of Alabama’s secondary in the 2021 and 2022 seasons before transferring to Oregon, Jackson was on summer break from the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL team drafted the cornerback in the fourth round on April 27, and after completing Minnesota’s offseason program, he had been scheduled to report to his first NFL training camp on July 21.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning said his team met on Monday morning and “spent some time telling some stories about a guy we all loved – Khyree. It was fun reflecting back on some of those stories and remembering a person that made an impact on all of our lives.”

Lanning told a couple of the stories on Wednesday night.

“I kind of have two funny stories I shared with our players earlier this week, but I felt like I could share them with this group as well,” Lanning said. “Anybody who knows Khyree knows he’s competitive. Well, there’s this other guy who played quarterback for us last year named Bo Nix that’s pretty competitive. We were having a pretty sparky practice one day, and they’re going back and forth, and I think Bo completed a couple of passes Khyree’s way, and it pissed Khyree off. Bo thought he would just keep going at him. I remember Bo turned around: ‘I’m going to get him again. Watch this.’ And he threw it again – interception. Touchdown, Khyree.

“That was Khyree. He’d bring it every single day. There’s not a more passionate player that we had on our team than him, and he played the game the way it was supposed to be played. When he stepped on the field, he had a certain demeanor.

“I also remember in the Pac-12 Championship Game, it’s third-and-11. It’s a critical play in the game, and Khyree gets a big interception – huge interception for our team. And this guy was so passionate, he immediately goes into full body cramps because he’s celebrating so hard after the interception. He has a hard time going back into the game. And I’ll forever remember, when he made a play, it was special. But when he celebrated a play, it was that much more special because this guy celebrated every part of life, and I’m forever grateful for that.

“My hope through all these moments is that the sadness that everyone of us have right now knowing that we’re not going to get to see a beloved teammate, beloved son, brother again is knowing that those moments of sadness will turn to joy when we think about him.”

Johnson had a rest-of-the-story addition to Lanning’s remarks.

“Bo watched the same play over and over,” Johnson said. “And if you know Bo, Bo’s going to watch that play over and over until he figures out a way to complete that ball again. But I remember one thing Bo said that night was: That’s the best corner that I ever seen in college. …

“I just want everyone to know Khyree was one of those guys you wanted to be around every day. No matter what it was, if you’re around Khyree, you’re going to have a good day.”

Four of Jackson’s Oregon teammates spoke during the vigil, and cornerback Dontae Manning battled his emotions to get through his remarks.

“Somebody asked me what Ree meant to me or how could I best describe Ree,” Manning said. “And I would think of him as a flame. You think of a wildfire, and you think of destruction. But for me, I think of Ree as everything he touched or everything he came into contact with, it wasn’t the same once he left. He just had that fire in him, that competitiveness, and just was my dog.

“He’ll forever live in my heart.”

Jackson’s family attended the vigil.

“I just want to start off by thanking you guys and the rest of the nation for all the prayers and the ongoing support you guys have been giving Khyree and our family during this trying time,” his father, Raymond Jackson, said.

The vigil included a video featuring excerpts from interviews by Jackson and highlights from his play for the Ducks.

Wise High School in Upper Marlboro will hold a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. EDT Friday in memory of Jackson and his two high school teammates who also died in the Saturday wreck.

The three-vehicle crash that killed Jackson and his former teammates on Saturday remains under investigation, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office said on Monday. While no charges have been filed, Denise Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors “are definitely moving quickly and expeditiously” in their investigation.