NFL Draft: Why Myles Jack might be an even faster version of Ray Lewis – CBSSports.com

PHOENIX — The demon isn’t out right now. It’s tucked away for Sundays now, where it once used to show up on Saturdays. It’s inside of Myles Jack, admittedly so, but as he sat here talking about his football-playing demeanor, it was hard to imagine he’s the meanest, nastiest linebacker in this year’s NFL Draft.

Sitting on a workout stool here at The Fischer Institute where he’s preparing for the NFL Draft, Jack doesn’t come across as the wild, intense linebacker who shows up on tape running over ball carriers, blockers and anybody who gets in his way. The tapes of him playing at UCLA show he’s a versatile player who can run, hit, chase, cover and, oh, yeah, hit some more.

When you have his type of speed and ability to chase down runners and cover receivers in the slot — which he did for the Bruins — the perception is that your game is finesse. Not for this speed linebacker.

Listen as he talks about the demon inside:

“Once I put the helmet on, I change,” he said. “Football is a dangerous sport. People are out there trying to get you. My mentality is either him or me. And it’s not going to be me that’s going to get got. I always try to be aggressive and be the dominant person in every situation. I am a boring person off the field. I sit at home and play video games when I am not in here working out. But on the field, you have to rev yourself up, bring on that demon inside of you, not like a demon, but an alter ego. Once you put on the helmet, you’re a warrior. Off the field, I am a cool person, but on the field you can assault people and not get in trouble for it.”

Jack says he brings ‘that demon inside’ when playing football. (USATSI)

Does that sound like finesse?

It’s that combination of nastiness, combined with his amazing athletic ability, that has taken this former three-star recruit, who was an afterthought when he was added to a high-school all-star game late in the process, to the player I think is the best overall prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft.

When I asked one NFL general manager if he compared favorably to former Baltimore Ravens great Ray Lewis, the general manager had this to say:

“Yes, but Jack is faster.”

Lewis is this generation’s glamour middle linebacker, the violent, fast, athletic, tough, knock-your-head-off player who kids grew up playing on Madden. Jack was one of those kids, which is why when the comparisons were presented to him he turned into a sheepish kid, rather than the confident player you see on the field.

“When I hear I am compared to him, I am kind of like, ‘slow down, put on the brakes,”’ Jacks said. “I have to earn that. I have to climb the ladder before I can be mentioned with him, my name and his name in the same breath. He’ll be remembered for generations. Everybody knows Ray Lewis. You can’t compare yourself to idols. You want to model your game after it, but comparing me to him is too fast. I want to get there, but slow down.”

Jack wants to hold off on the Ray Lewis comparisons. (USATSI)

Some might say comparing Jack to Lewis is off base anyway. They will say he’s not big enough to play in the middle. But that’s the perception based on his speed and ability to run. When you cover slot receivers, which Jack did at UCLA, it’s hard to picture him at middle linebacker in the NFL.

But he played slot corner against UNLV weighing 235 pounds. He is now 243 pounds and plans to play at that weight. So he’s 6-foot-1, 243 pounds. Ray Lewis was listed at 6-1, 250 pounds. Carolina’s Luke Kuechly, considered the best middle linebacker in the league now, is listed at 6-3, 235 pounds.

These aren’t your dad’s middle linebackers. The game has changed. The days of the run-plugging, thick-legged middle linebackers are over, in large part because of the way offenses play now.

They spread you out and attack, which is why the man in the middle has to be able to run and ideally stay on the field for all downs. That’s why I think Jack is a perfect fit in the middle.

He could be a star on the weakside as well, and some teams have talked to him about playing safety in a Kam Chanellor-type role. He did play running back some at UCLA, and he was a good one, and teams have mentioned using him some there as well. He’s open to any of it, but the bottom line is this: He is the perfect NFL linebacker for today’s game.

“I was born in the right era,” Jack said. “The stars aligned.”

When I popped in the All-22 tape of UCLA-UNLV, I spent the first few plays looking for Jack’s No. 30 at linebacker. Instead of lining up inside off the ball, or even up near the line outside the ends, he was a slot corner that day.

Amazingly, he was a good one.

To me, it was a waste of his talents. Don’t they have corners at UCLA? But coach Jim Mora and his staff decided Jack’s talent was needed to cover speedy receivers.

“It was weird, but they trusted me and I take that as a compliment,” Jack said. “I like to run and hit — and I can cover. A cover linebacker I really watch is New England’s Jamie Collins. I like how the Patriots use him. He’s a focal point. I can cover and run and hit. Not a lot of people can do that. You either have a guy who can hit and run or guys who can cover. To have all three is a special combination. I don’t want to come off the field.”

On that tape, the demon came out after one play. He hit a UNLV player after the whistle and got a 15-yard penalty.

“They were talking all game, so I was like let me shut them up one time,” he said. “That’s my mentality.”

That game would end up being one of only three he would play last season for the Bruins. He suffered a torn meniscus — it came off the bone he says — in practice the week after a game against BYU. Rather than stay around the team and rehab, Jack made the decision to withdraw from school and move to Arizona to begin his rehab and enter the NFL Draft.

Jack unloads on Stanford tight end Austin Hooper. (USATSI)

It was a move that was met with disdain in some circles. UCLA coach Jim Mora wasn’t thrilled with the decision when he talked with Jack. UCLA fans came down hard on him for abandoning his teammates. Friends and family even questioned it.

“I took hell for it,” he said. “What those people didn’t understand was that my season was over. I was in a position to leave and go to the NFL and focus on getting better, focus on myself. Most of those people didn’t focus on the big picture. For me, it was more about going for my dream. If you’re staying around the team rehabbing, you’re not part of the team anyway.

“I have zero regrets. The turmoil I went through with so many people asking me why I was doing it will be worth it when I am drafted on April 28. Anybody who has a job opportunity making six figures without their degree would jump at that chance That’s what I am doing. I will go back and get my degree (anthropology.). Please put that in there. I’ve been at UCLA where people 60 years old are in class. You can’t be 60 and play football. You have a short window to play football. I can always go back and get my degree. I have an opportunity of a lifetime to take care of my family. Why wouldn’t I?”

Jack might end up being a trailblazer of sorts for more football players on the verge of NFL careers. That was brought into the spotlight when Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith tore up his knee playing in a meaningless bowl game in January. A sure-fire first-round pick, Smith will likely go much later and might have to sit out the 2016 season.

Jack’s decision to withdraw from UCLA and focus on rehab drew some criticism. (USATSI)

“When the details of his injury came out, I was like, ‘Oh, —. I feel for him,”’ Jack said. “I hope he can get back, but doing what I did is a tough decision. I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. It’s a man’s decision. It is something you have to live with. If somebody wants to do it, I would tell them to get surrounded by good people who have their best interests. Then go somewhere and work out, go home, and don’t do much of anything else. It’s a job. But it’s what I wanted to do.”

Jack will almost certainly hear his name called in the top-eight picks of the draft. He is back running and cutting and doing linebacker drills. He didn’t run the 40 at his pro day at UCLA and won’t run one before the draft, although the day I talked with him he was open to it.

“I understand why people are talking about it, but why such a big deal about a 40 time,” he said. “I am just getting cleared. If people watch how I play on the field, there is no question about my 40 time.”

He plays fast, which is why whoever drafts him will be getting the player who just might be the next Ray Lewis.

The speed is there. The ability to attack runners is there. The coverage skills are there.

Most importantly, the violence is there.

The demon inside is what makes Jack truly special. This fall, it’s coming out on Sundays.

Jack is poised to make an impact on Sundays this fall. (USATSI)

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