IRVINE, Calif. — Over the past year, college football analysts and draft pundits have gushed that John Ross, the University of Washington receiver with blinding speed, could be the next DeSean Jackson. Few realized, however, that the nine-year NFL veteran had taken it upon himself to groom his potential successor.
The relationship began last summer at a barbershop in Long Beach, both players’ hometown. Ross’s father, John Ross Jr. (the younger Ross is John Ross III), a regular patron, bragged nearly every day that his son was the next big thing. Jackson’s brother, Khaled, another regular, relayed the conversation to DeSean.