Junior Myles Jack adapts to changing lineup, moves to central position

Tom Bradley didn’t get lost on his way to Spaulding Field today. He didn’t cause an accident on the 405. No honks serenaded him as he steered through early morning traffic on his way to Westwood.

UCLA football’s new defensive coordinator said this was the start to a good day.

Bradley was hired on Feb. 23 to replace Jeff Ulbrich, who left his position with the Bruins to pursue a career with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. While Bradley, West Virginia’s former defensive coordinator, has found it challenging to navigate his new surroundings, the biggest obstacle so far has been getting lost in translation.

“The hardest thing is everybody getting on the same page with the communication. (Defense and special teams analyst) Dimetrius (Hajimihalis) has figured out what I call different things now, so that helps,” Bradley said. “I use different words and it’s all about words and meaning. The learning curve is probably mostly on me.”

Penn State’s former defensive coordinator ushered many a linebacker from State College, Pa., to the NFL, such as the second overall draft pick in 2000 – LaVar Arrington – and the eighth overall pick in 1987 – Shane Conlan. Junior linebacker Myles Jack hopes to add his name to Bradley’s list of success stories as he transitions into a new role on the team this season.

“Just the first rounders and just the people he’s put out in general underneath him, it’s impressive and I’m excited to hopefully be one of those types of people to come out under his name,” Jack said.

Once again this season as in 2014, Jack will be asked to adapt within the lineup, moving to the inside of the formation and positioning himself in the middle of the field.

“Myles Jack, we’re going to work him this spring some at inside linebacker, what we call the ‘Jack’ position, as well as a little bit of outside,” said coach Jim Mora on Tuesday. “We play so much nickel defense and he plays inside in nickel, so it’s a really easy adjustment for him to go to that spot and play. … It gets him in the middle of the field where we can utilize his speed and things like that.”

With the departure of inside linebacker Eric Kendricks this season, Jack’s new position will help fill the holes left by Kendricks between the hash marks.

“I like it. It’s cool for me, I get to be in space and just run and hit, which is what people say is my better quality,” Jack said. “I’m just going to watch a lot of Eric Kendricks’ film and just try to learn what I can to become the best player I can be.”

Jack is used to being moved around, playing both offense and defense in his first two seasons as a Bruin and having to adapt to different positions sometimes during a game.

“We do ask a lot of him – to do different things. We do move him around in a lot different situations and I think he’s got that ability,” Bradley said. “Obviously we know he can play on the outside, he’s done it in the past. I think we’re trying to get a look at him more – what he can do in the middle this year – and get him to be able to run to the football.”

Quarterback camp

Also new to the field, in addition to Bradley, is freshman quarterback Josh Rosen. The rookie got his chance to enter his bid for the starting quarterback position Thursday, as he featured as one of two quarterbacks in the 11-on-11 scrimmage.

Rosen outshined redshirt junior Mike Fafaul, completing 11 of 13 throws and remaining composed under the pressure of a scrimmage defense.

As Brett Hundley looked on from the sidelines, the freshman did his best impression of the Bruins’ former quarterback, taking the ball himself on three different plays and successfully scrambling out of the pocket.

Rosen threw well in coverage and adapted to plays, recovering from poor snaps and throwing cleanly.

Rosen is directly competing with redshirt junior Jerry Neuheisel for the starting spot. After biding his time behind Hundley for the past three years, Neuheisel is ready to make the most of an opportunity to start.

“It’s a different feel around here than the last three years. I’ve actually got something to do besides signal on the sidelines. It’s a lot of fun,” Neuheisel said. “It’s awesome to be involved in a competition; that’s kind of what you come to play college football for – you want to be involved in those sort of things and you always want the chance to be the guy.”

Neuheisel has the most experience of any other quarterback hopefuls, as he’s been around the program the longest out of all six potential signal callers. With prominent leaders from the Bruins’ 2014 campaign no longer with the team, Neuheisel looks to step up in more ways than one.

“We always say ‘next man up,’” Neuheisel said. “So as much as we’re sad to see them go we’re ready for the next opportunity and the next phase of UCLA football.”