It seems the season-ending knee injury linebacker Myles Jack suffered during a recent UCLA practice has scared the NFL hopeful enough to push him to take some fairly significant steps to protect his financial and professional future. UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora announced on Tuesday that Jack had informed him that he would be withdrawing from the university in order to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
Mora was, unsurprisingly, nonplussed.
"I think it's very risky to do this. There's a lot of speculation to . . . where he fits," Mora said, via Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. "I've been in 25 draft rooms. I've never seen a guy taken off [two games of junior tape].
"Myles' talent is without question. I hope he's put enough out there where they can get a true evaluation."
That sounds fairly similar to former USC head coach and current Seattle Seahawks boss Pete Carroll's comments regarding quarterback Mark Sanchez's decision to enter the draft after only one year leading the Trojan offense. After a couple seasons of professional promise, Sanchez ultimately came well short of fulfilling the expectations placed on him by the NFL and the New York Jets as a top-five first-round draft pick, so Carroll's words then coupled with Mora's frustrated musings now seem to carry some significant weight where Jack is concerned.
Still, there's no denying Jack's talent, though his status as a first-round pick come next April is certainly still in question. At the time of his injury, Mack was widely considered one of the top linebackers and one of the best overall athletes in all of college football. A two-way player who sees time on the offensive side of the ball, Mack had collected 15 tackles, one interception and one pass break up through three games this season. Due to the manner in which the Bruins and Mora deployed him though, Jack seems, ironically enough, a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none as he preps to enter the NFL.
But as Gantt notes, it's in Jack's best interest to preserve his fiscal future. It's in Mora's best interests to ensure UCLA keeps winning.
