Myles Jack stars at running back for UCLA, plays both ways

November 9, 2013

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UCLA stud true freshman Myles Jack has been one of the best players for the Bruins this season, and that was before he started contributing on offense in addition to defense.

The Bruins got creative on Saturday against Arizona and had several players from their defense play in offensive packages. The star of the group was Jack, who rushed for a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Here’s the video:

Those who have followed Jack’s career won’t be surprised by his success running the ball. Jack was a successful running back and sprinter in high school. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound freshman was even rated as a No. 8 big running back by Tom Lemming coming out of high school. And coach Jim Mora said in October that there was a chance Jack could play on offense.

The impetus for putting Jack and others on offense against Arizona was all the injuries the Bruins had. Running back Jordon James was out with an ankle injury, while Steven Manfro also missed the game. The Bruins put in the package for Jack a couple of days before the game

“Well we thought about it for a while — using Myles and some of those other guys,” Mora explained to ESPN’s Maria Taylor after the game. “We’ve got a good freshman group. But we don’t want to put too much on them too soon, just seemed like the time was right to use Kenny Clark and use Eddie Vanderdoes and use Myles on offense where they could be effective. And it helped us win tonight.”

Jack led the Bruins with 120 yards on six carries. He also had at least seven tackles and a fumble recovery on defense. Fellow linebacker Jordan Zumwalt also played offense and caught a pass for 12 yards.

On Jack’s big touchdown run, we counted at least four members of UCLA’s defense who were in the formation. Jack was the tailback, Zumwalt lined up at fullback to the left of Hundley, Cassius Marsh was on the far left on the offensive line, and Brandon Willis lined up at the other tight end and did major damage blocking on the play. It was a thing of beauty.