Vikings’ Dallas Turner: Late Khairy Jackson ‘Watching Me’

EAGAN, Minn. — Dallas Turner stopped abruptly Thursday as he walked toward the Minnesota Vikings practice field. The rookie quarterback then turned and knelt at a memorial the team has set up for Khyree Jackson, the fourth-round pick who was killed in a car accident earlier this month.

Turner, who played two seasons with Jackson at Alabama before the duo reunited in the 2024 Vikings draft, spent more than a minute alone before getting up and joining his teammates.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since Jackson’s death, Turner said: “I talk to him all the time… and I get goosebumps every time I talk to him. So I know he’s watching me.”

Before practice today, Vikings rookie quarterback Dallas Turner knelt at a memorial the team has set up for Khyree Jackson. He stayed there for about a minute. He said he will attend Jackson’s funeral tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ZdB0eCSmt3

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 25, 2024

Turner had a personal history with Jackson among Vikings players, coaches and staff. He placed a plaque with Jackson’s name above his own in the Vikings locker room — “As long as I live, I will represent his name,” he said — and will attend Jackson’s funeral Friday with a group of team executives and coaches.

Jackson transferred to Alabama in 2021, the same year as Turner’s freshman there, and their lockers were a few feet apart. They played together in 2022 as well before Jackson transferred to Oregon for the 2023 season.

“So this was really a guy that I saw every day,” Turner said, “and I saw him really grow from Alabama to when he went to Oregon. He went through his trials and tribulations there. We ended up in the same place again. So, I felt like this meant something, and this was my buddy every day after training (this spring). He was there with me at the hotel, we hung out at the hotel every day and just talked shit and stuff like that with each other, just having fun.”

“This was a guy who really helped me grow as a person. He helped me realize who I was, and he helped me build my confidence off the field and on it in a way. But he was definitely a very influential person.”

Others scheduled to attend Friday’s memorial service include general manager Kwasi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell, defensive coordinator Brian Flores, special teams coordinator Matt Daniels and defensive line coach Daronte Jones. The Vikings will host a private memorial service for Jackson later this summer in Minnesota.