UCLA boasts Jack-of-all-trades

LOS ANGELES – About one minute into his senior year football highlight film, as Myles Jack dodges one tackle, collides with another defender – who foolishly thinks he’s got him – then spins away just barely missing the ground, defies gravity to regain his balance, cuts back and runs 65 yards for a touchdown, it’s hard not to believe that Jack could be college football’s next big thing at running back.

Problem is, he’s a linebacker.

At least, that’s where UCLA has chosen to first deploy its cyborg freshman athlete, after Jack took the Bruins’ starting outside linebacker job from Aaron Wallace – who had been declared the starter – with authority, racking up 13 tackles in his first two collegiate games. Almost instantly, Jack became a serious factor on third down, deflecting three passes and proving to be just as disruptive in coverage as he was while rushing the passer.

“You see he’s just a freak athlete,” said Anthony Barr, who might be Jack’s only equal on UCLA’s defense when it comes to athleticism. “He does things that people aren’t supposed to be able to do.”

On Wednesday, Jack was at it again, lining up for one-on-one drills against UCLA’s speedy, athletic wide receivers. Jack made two acrobatic interceptions.

“Maybe we’ll just play him at corner,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said with a laugh.

Mora swears he’s joking when he says that, but watching Jack, seeing the instinctual plays he makes, the closing speed, the athleticism, it’s not impossible to believe he could play corner – or pretty much any other position on the football field.

For most of his life though, Jack was a running back, and a handful of schools, including South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Utah, saw his future there. He was a running back when he first made an impression on Mora, who was helping coach his son Ryder’s youth team – a group that included Jack’s little brother, Jahlen.

“I remember when they showed up from Georgia and Myles showed up to practice … had on his shower shoes, white socks, gray sweats, T-shirt,” Mora said. “I said, ‘How old is that kid?’ And they said he was only like 12, and he was already just jacked up.”

Jack wasn’t always big, per se – a summer growth spurt before his junior year elevated him from a diminutive 5-foot-8 to 6-2 – but he’s always been strong and fast, an advantage he credits, somewhat, to his mother’s influence.

He was in middle school when his mother, La Sonjia, told him to do push-ups every night before he went to bed. That discipline showed through at Bellevue (Wash.) High when Jack went full games – as the top running back and linebacker – without seeing the sideline for more than a minute or two.

Now, playing multiple positions, Jack barely even breaks a sweat.

“He never gets tired,” Mora said. “He’s quick as a cat. He can run, he can jump, he can anticipate. He’s got really good football awareness. He comes out here and he’s a hard worker. He seems to get better every single day, and that’s what I saw when he was young.”

It didn’t take long for UCLA’s coaches to realize that Jack needed to be on the field. And before too long, it’s possible Jack will work into a few of the Bruins’ offensive sets, likely first around the goal line. He’s already gotten reps returning kicks in practice.

There is some concern, from Mora in particular, that more responsibility could be a mental overload for the freshman, who’s already cemented as UCLA’s dime linebacker and starting outside linebacker, opposite Barr. But with the Bruins’ offensive coaches dreaming up ways to use Jack, it might be only a matter of time.

Jack will leave those decisions to his coaches. But if they call on him to play both ways, he insists he’s up for the challenge, even if he sees his true calling on defense. .

“I used to play the entire game,” Jack said. “If they want me to do that here, playing in different packages or playing the whole game, I’ll try. If they put me in, I’ll make it happen.”

There’s fervor behind his voice, but a second after he says it, he smiles, suggesting, just for a moment, that even Myles Jack has limits.

Mora, however, isn’t so sure.

“I've always kind of seen something in him that was special,” he said. “This kid is special. I mean, he is special, special.”

TRAVELER’S CHECK

UCLA might be up against an overmatched and inferior team this weekend at the Rose Bowl, but getting a win over 42-point underdog New Mexico State won’t exactly be cheap.

The Aggies will receive $550,000 for coming to Los Angeles to play UCLA this weekend.