Turner, the first-round pick who played two seasons with Jackson for the Crimson Tide, still talks to his friend.

“Tell him I miss him,” Turner said. “Tell him like it is, just talk to him like I would talk to him if he were here.”

Jackson’s unlikely journey to the Vikings included stints at junior colleges and time away from the game before returning to fight his way to the top of college football at Alabama and Oregon. Confident and outspoken, Jackson always had a smile on his face.

Turner tries every day to embody Jackson’s resilience and joy.

“You know when Khyree is in the room,” Turner said. “He will make you laugh, he will tell you real things. Maybe not everyone liked him, but he always wanted to be real and authentic. … He was one of the mentally strongest people I know because what he overcame throughout his life in general is not just football, but the way he talked and the confidence he had about everything , what he did. That lit a light in me. He helped me realize who I am.”

All three men who died in the July car crash attended Wise High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Three Vikings players – Turner, defensive tackle Taki Taimani and receiver Jeshaun Jones – attended the joint funeral of Jackson and Isaiah Hazel, along with O’Connell, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and three assistant coaches.