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UCLA Bruins’ Myles Jack makes smart choice, declares for NFL Draft

By Brenton Lillie

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UCLA Bruins’ injured linebacker Myles Jack has withdrawn from school and will enter the NFL draft.

UCLA Bruins’ star two-way player Myles Jack made an important career decision in the wake of a season-ending knee injury, according to CBSSports.com:

"“UCLA star linebacker Myles Jack, who suffered a torn meniscus two weeks ago, has withdrawn from school and will enter the 2016 NFL Draft. UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. announced Jack’s withdrawal from UCLA during his press conference on Tuesday morning.”"

Jack was projected to be a first round pick prior to the injury, and clearly he was expecting to jump to the professional level at the end of the year, regardless. The fact he has withdrawn from school and is concentrating solely on rehab and getting ready for the draft this spring shows his thought process. The only question here is what this means for the UCLA program and whether Jack is making the right move.

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UCLA has looked good on defense even without Jack and other stalwarts out with injury, but they did lose their first game of the year last Saturday to Arizona State. In that game, the Bruins gave up almost 200 yards rushing to what had been a pedestrian Sun Devils running game. Arizona State sensed the weakness in UCLA’s run defense with both Jack and defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes out for the season. This led to 46 rushes for 4.2 yards per carry. A formula that other teams in the Pac-12 will look to repeat in future games against the Bruins.

The Bruins could be in trouble on the defensive side of the ball going forward, with a game against the brutally physical Stanford Cardinal coming up next. If UCLA cannot fix their run defense, their hopes of a South division title will leave with Jack. That is just a side story, however, and the looming big question is whether Jack made the right call, and the obvious disappointment from head coach Jim Mora Jr.

During his Tuesday morning press conference, Mora mentioned the decision several times, via Pete Thamel’s twitter account:

While I would not want to put words in the mouth of Mora, it seems to me like he counseled Jack to stay for another year, while still making the case to the NFL that Jack has next-level talent. The injury will clearly affect his draft evaluation, but Dane Brugler of CBSSports and NFLDraftScouts.com thinks he is still a first round selection:

"“So if Jack was a top-10 pick prior to the injury, where will he land now post-injury? That’s the difficult question that will depend on his recovery status throughout the pre-draft process next spring. The medical evaluations at the NFL Combine in February are vital for his draft projection as team doctors are able to give scouts and general managers an update on his rehab. Georgia’s Todd Gurley tore his ACL last November and was unable to work out for NFL teams prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, but he chose to leave school early and because his rehab went smoothly, the Rams drafted the running back 10th overall.”"

Gurley is a great example of how the NFL looks more at athleticism and potential than what a player actually did in college. The strategy has clearly worked for the NFL, as Gurley just had a monster day in his most extensive action in his rookie season.

Jack is obviously making the best decision for himself. If he was a first round talent before, he is a first round talent now. His injury, while significant, happened early enough that he should still be able to fully participate in rookie mini-camp and training camp for any team that selects him. Whether he will be ready for the combine is unknown, but first round potential picks rarely do much other than talk at the NFL’s ridiculous pre-draft event.

There is no question Jack made the right call in leaving school, despite the cautious words of Mora, but it is still curious why the Bruins head coach would think coming back for his senior season is anything other than an unnecessary risk. It has to be said, as well, that the guy who benefits most from another year of Jack at UCLA, is, of course, Mora.

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