UCLA Football: You Don’t Know Myles Jack

Nathan Eberhardt

Sep 25, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins linebacker Myles Jack (30) celebrates a play against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. UCLA defeated Arizona State 62-27. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA linebacker Myles Jack has become the face of the Bruins. How did he get here? How has he earned that status? So what can we expect from him in 2015?

Myles Away from Home

Before assessing at what Jack has done and looking forward to this season, it’s helpful to know the path that brought him to UCLA. Most of the following is pulled from an excellent profile that former UCLA beat writer Ryan Kartje wrote up in the OC Register last November. Click through and read the whole thing, particularly towards the end about his friendship with Budda Baker.

UCLA Bruins

Jack grew up a quiet but preternaturally talented kid in Gwinnett County, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta. He excelled in peewee football, primarily at running back. He was known as a gifted athlete, a hard worker, and smart player. As a third-grader, he was coaching his teammates on other players’ tendencies, and he ran tackling drills in his parents’ basement.

Just before high school, Jack moved with his mother to Bellevue, Washington. Quiet and unknown in the local coaching circles, Jack struggled to make an impact at running back. But before his junior year he grew four inches and put on some muscle. He came back to school with a frame to match his athleticism.

Now deemed too big to play running back, he was moved to linebacker, and he fell in love with playing on the defensive side of the ball. Jack’s natural ability, his body, his football acumen, and his work ethic all combined again to make him stand out among his peers.

When the college recruiters came calling, teams like South Carolina and Georgia all tried to sell Jack on the idea of moving back to running back at the college level. Only Washington and UCLA recruited Jack as a defensive player. Ultimately, then-linebackers coach and Jack’s primary recruiter, Jeff Ulbrich, prevailed, selling Jack on Jim Mora‘s transformation of UCLA’s defensive identity and on the trajectory of the program.

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Nov 23, 2013; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins linebacker Myles Jack (30) runs for 37 yards as Arizona State Sun Devils safety Alden Darby (4) goes for the stop in the first half of the game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

2013

Jack quickly worked his way into the starting linebacker corps as a freshman, and he performed well in his first three games (I remember first noticing him in the game at Nebraska), but it was at Utah where he really started garnering attention, with five tackles and an interception. He followed that up with big games against Cal, at Stanford, at Oregon, and against Colorado.

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2014

Coming off of a year like that – which netted him the Pac-12 Defensive and Offensive Freshman of the Year trophies – and with 2013’s premier defensive performer Anthony Barr leaving the linebacker corps via the NFL draft, many assumed that Jack would take control of the defense and put up even gaudier numbers. Specifically, I think that since Barr and Jack were both outside linebackers, many people envisioned Jack picking up the bulk of Barr’s sack totals and terrorizing the backfield.

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That’s just never been Jack’s game. Eric Kendricks stepped forward as the leader of the defense, amassing 149 tackles, most in the nation, and Deon Hollins led the team in sacks. Jack ‘merely’ redirected offensive game plans and cast a shadow across the whole field, particularly with his speed and coverage abilities.

Case in point: he played man coverage against USC’s leading receiver, Nelson Agholor, holding him to 3 receptions for 24 yards. In doing so, he single-handedly took away Cody Kessler‘s favorite target (a 1300+ yard receiver), enabling his teammates to sack Kessler six times, pick him off once, and limit USC to 62 yards rushing.

That doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Was that game a disappointing performance for Jack? Only if you have a very narrow set of expectations for what he needs to do in order to be as good as advertised.

More: Myles Jack and Deon Hollins Ranked Among Top LB Duos

Thankfully, Jack has the right perspective on it all. This from another profile by ESPN’s Kevin Gemmell:

"‘Realistically, I thought I had a great season,’ Jack said. ‘The positions I was put in and the things I was asked to do, I thought it went well. ‘I don’t want to say I’m content. But I’m happy. I don’t feel like I need to come out and redeem myself or bounce back.’"

Next: Jack's last chance to justify the hype...

Myles Jack and Coach Jim Mora return to Washington this Saturday. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2015

Going into this season, we’re all very excited about the team, the defense, and Jack in particular. The defense returns pretty much everyone but Kendricks and Owamagbe Odighizuwa; there’s a new, proven defensive coordinator in town, one with a record of coaching truly great linebackers; and Jack is moving to a more natural, inside linebacker position.

Understandably, the Myles Jack buzz is deafening. He’s on nearly every applicable preseason award watchlist. He’s the face of the entire team, now that Brett Hundley is gone. This is the year where I think people expect Jack to launch himself into the stratosphere.

I just hope we can avoid setting ourselves up for disappointment. Mora and new coordinator Tom Bradley know they have an incredibly talented and versatile weapon at their disposal. They’re going to move Jack around and use him in ways to help the team win games. And we know from experience that he’ll readily and capably do what they ask him to do.

I would hate for us – fans, media, etc. – to fail to appreciate that just because it may not look like the year we’ve scripted in our minds. So let’s savor the opportunity to watch Myles Jack do his thing for one more year. Unless…

Myles Jack tells me his plan as of now is to stay at UCLA for four years. Obviously, a lot can change.
— Kevin Gemmell (@Kevin_Gemmell) April 8, 2015

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Nathan Eberhardt

UCLA fan by the grace and wisdom of my dad, who taught me to love sports while sitting in Section 17 Row 71 of the Rose Bowl on fall Saturdays from the time I was four. San Francisco Giants fan by marriage since 2005 (which means I've put in my dues with some awful teams).Fulham FC fan by choice - an increasingly baffling choice, but one I stand by.