The thing that everyone was waiting for will have to wait a couple more weeks.
Myles Jack did not run his 40-yard dash at UCLA Football Pro Day on Tuesday. The former UCLA linebacker – and projected top-10 pick in this year’s NFL draft – is still recovering from the torn meniscus he suffered in September during practice.
“I’d say I’m about 80 (percent),” Jack said after his workout. “I have to not be so hard on myself and understand that I’m still getting back to where I want to be. It just takes time and patience.”
Jack ensured that he will be back to full health by April 1, when he is scheduled to host a personal workout at the UCLA Intramural Field – including a 40-yard dash. The NFL draft begins April 28.
On Tuesday, the only activities Jack participated in were the vertical leap, the broad jump and a trio of linebacker drills. Jack put up a 40-inch vertical leap – which would have tied for the best vertical leap by a linebacker at the NFL combine this year – and a 10-foot-4-inch broad jump.
“My broad was a 10-4 – I was jumping that I think my freshman year in college,” Jack said. “So it’s way better numbers that I can post, I just have to keep moving through this injury.”
Jack said that his eventual goals in the vertical leap and broad jump are 44 inches and 10-feet-10-inches, respectively.
As for the linebacker drills, Jack is still getting his feet wet. He was just cleared to move laterally March 8, so Tuesday marked the first time that he’d participated in full-speed linebacker drills since September.
“It’s good to know where I’m at. (But) I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Jack said. “ I thought it was an OK day for me.”
Coach Jim Mora said that the Myles Jack he saw in those drills was not entirely reminiscent of the Myles Jack he saw on the field at full strength. However, Mora said he has no doubt that his former standout linebacker will get back to the lofty precedent he set for himself during his time in Westwood.
“I don’t think Myles is 100 percent yet. You know, he had a little hitch,” Mora said. “I think he’s pretty well recovered. It’s just the change-of-direction stuff, I think he’s still getting used to.”
For now, it’s still a waiting game on his full draft evaluation, but Jack said he is right on track to meet the rehab goals he set for himself six months ago.
“I would say I’m right where I wanted to be,” Jack said. “You know, when I got injured and I made the decision to leave it was really kind of a time preference of: It’s a six-month injury, I’ve got to be ready by this time, by this date. So I’m hitting all of the marks that I wanted to hit.”
April 1 is now the next mark. Jack said his goal is to run anywhere between a high 4.5 seconds or a low 4.6 seconds in his 40-yard dash.
Standout showings
Surprisingly, UCLA’s top performer of the day was someone who wasn’t really on anyone’s draft board coming into the day. Senior wide receiver Devin Fuller, who hauled in just 24 catches last year as a senior, broke through with a 40-yard dash that was timed between 4.36 and 4.37 seconds.
“The guy who just blew it up out here today was Devin Fuller,” Mora said. “Everyone thinks we inflate their (40-yard dash) times, but the NFL scouts had him at 4.36, 4.37. … And he ran great routes. His vertical was good. … He looked tremendous.”
Fuller – a former Army All-American athlete prospect out of high school – flew under the radar at UCLA as he struggled to find a niche in the offense. He shuffled between playing some slot as a junior to playing the Z receiver on the perimeter as a senior in 2015. With his 6-foot, 200-pound frame and quick feet, Fuller figures to be a slot receiver at the next level.
Payton’s bold prediction
UCLA senior wide receiver Jordan Payton had an interesting quote for the media after Pro Day concluded. He said that his 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine last month – 4.47 seconds – was something he perfectly predicted to scouts in the weeks prior.
“Right on the dot. I said 4.47 to every team I met with,” Payton said. “My agent and them were losing their minds, because you don’t want to go on telling people what you’re going to run and then not run it. But I was confident. I’ve been running that for some time now.”
Payton did not run the 40 on Tuesday, but performed solidly in route-running drills.
Notes
- Redshirt junior running back Paul Perkins – a projected third-round pick – participated in a few route-running exercises; he bobbled a couple passes but looked strong otherwise.
- Junior nose tackle Kenny Clark – a projected late-first/early-second round pick – said that he believes he’s the “most consistent” defensive linemen in this year’s draft class. Clark played 39 games during his UCLA career, and started the final 30.
- Mora said that he could see as many as 11 UCLA players being selected in the draft this year. Fifteen players took part in Tuesday’s Pro Day.