UCLA freshman linebacker Myles Jack is an electric defensive playmaker who for a second consecutive week proved to be the same on offense, this time in a 41-31 win over Washington last Friday, putting head coach Jim Mora in an interesting dilemma.
Pay per head services saw that the UCLA head coach told reporters earlier this week that Jack’s number of repetitions at running back “depends on the situation.”
Myles Jack was named Pac-12 offensive player of the week after taking six carries for 120 yards and a touchdown against Arizona on November 9 and he rushed for 59 yards and four touchdowns against Washington last Friday, matching Maurice Jones-Drew, who had four touchdowns on the ground in a game in 2004. It’s the second-most rushing touchdowns a Bruin running back has ever scored in a game.
Jack as a 2-way threat is no longer an experiment, it’s a reality.
“He’s a weapon,” UCLA head coach Jim Mora said. “But you just can’t go crazy with it.”
It might be late for that as Bruins fans feel he should strictly play offense, since the team could end this season with quarterback Brett Hundley as their leading rusher.
So why not use Jack as a full-time running back? Coach Mora said it’s because Jack still has to learn how to block like a running back.
“Protection, it’s undervalued,” Mora said. “All you see is a guy carrying the ball. You have to know how to block.”