After last Saturday’s 21-0 victory over Stanford,
linebacker Justin London said that it was the most fun he’d
had playing football in a long time.
And why not?
London said he finally felt semi-healthy after suffering and
re-aggravating a high ankle sprain early in the season. A healthy
London is good news for the UCLA defense, and it certainly showed
in last weekend’s dominating shutout.
“It’s not a surprise to me that his play really
contributed to us being so good, especially against the run,”
defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said.
Before last weekend, UCLA had been allowing over 250 rushing
yards a game. Stanford gained just 86. And a lot of the credit
belongs to London, who anchors the Bruin defense in the middle of
the field and calls the defensive adjustments from his linebacker
spot. His presence on the field makes everyone else that much
better.
“It just makes the team better, because he’s so
physical inside and he does all the right stuff all the
time,” fellow linebacker Spencer Havner said.
Prior to the Stanford game, it was pretty clear that
London’s game had been suffering because of the injury. He
just couldn’t do the things he was accustomed to doing. But
last Saturday, he just might have turned the corner.
“I don’t want to underestimate his value to this
defense,” coach Karl Dorrell said.
Dorrell said that London isn’t as weighed down mentally by
the injury as he has been previously. That has allowed him to play
with more confidence, while also allowing Havner to go out and make
plays. Against Stanford, London had a season-high 10 tackles, while
Havner finished with 16 tackles.
“He’s kept his head up the whole time,” said
Havner, who credited London with UCLA’s marked improvement
against the run. “He hasn’t brought the team down at
all by saying anything negative. A lot of people can get down on
themselves and just be negative when they have an injury, but
he’s kept his head up the whole time.”
London, a true junior from Roanoke, Virginia, finished second on
the Bruins with 98 tackles last season. Those he’s not
anywhere near that pace this year because of the injury, having him
close to full health will mean volumes to the Bruins as the season
continues.
“The way he’s practiced this week, there’s no
tell-tale signs of his ankle bothering him,” Kerr said.
“He’s playing at a speed that I’m accustomed to
seeing him playing.”
Throughout this whole process, Havner has been impressed with
London’s attitude and work ethic. He’s been in the
training room twice a day, every day, and his attitude has remained
positive. And all the hard work paid off last Saturday.
“He was flying around a lot,” said Havner, adding
that London really had 14 tackles, even though he was credited with
10. “He really had a good game.”
“He was able to make the plays you are accustomed to
seeing No. 9 make,” Dorrell said.
Now, as the season moves into its final stages, everybody
associated with the program seems thrilled at the prospect of
London being back at full strength. Because he’s so strong in
the middle, the rush defense, and the defense as a whole, should
continue to improve.
“I think last week was a breakthrough not only for the
entire defense but for Justin,” Kerr said. “And
I’m not surprised that those things coincide a little
bit.”