Myles Jack

At 29 years old, Myles Jack has this physical status:

Myles David Jack (born September 3, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

He played football for the UCLA Bruins and was named the best freshman in the Pac-12 twice, both on defense and offense for his role as a running back.

After suffering a season-ending knee injury, Jack dropped out of UCLA and announced for the draft in 2015.

In the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jack.

Early years

Jack was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, to La Sonjia and H. David Jack. He lettered in football and track at Bellevue, Washington, while high school. Jack began his freshman season as a running back before transitioning to linebacker. He had 98 tackles and 24 sacks as a senior, leading his team to a 14-0 record.

Jack was fourth in fourth place in the 400-meter dash at the 2013 WA3A State Meet, a personal record of 49.05 seconds. He finished bronze in the 200-meter dash event at the 2013 3A KingCo Championships by clocking a personal record of 22.12 seconds. He was also a member of the 2013 state 3A champion 4 100 m (41.64) and 4 412 (1912.12) relay teams.

Jack was ranked No. 301 by Rivals.com as the No. 1 recruit for the four-star class. In 2013, the country's 16th outside linebacker was named. He preferred UCLA over the offers from Florida State, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington, and Utah.

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College career

Jack was a true freshman in 2013--13 games, starting 12 at linebacker and one at running back, beginning 12 on linebacker and one at running back. He finished the season with 75 tackles, the second-most by a UCLA true freshman since Kenny Easley's 93 in 1977. On defense, Jack also had two interceptions and one touchdown. He had 267 running yards on 38 attempts, averaging over seven yards per carry, and ran for a team-leading seven touchdowns in five games on offense.

Jack did not play back in a 31–26 victory over Arizona, where he gained 120 yards on six carries, with a 66-yard touchdown. With starter Jordon James out of place due to an ankle injury, the Bruins were left short on running backs. In a 41–31 victory over Washington, Jack ran for a UCLA freshman-record four touchdowns despite more backbone in the following week. Jack began and played mostly against the Sun Devils, defeating them 38-33, with the offense still depleted in the backfield and Coach Jim Mora playing mostly nickel defense against Arizona State. Jack was named both the Pac-12 Conference Offensive and Defensive Freshman of the Year for his work. He was also named an All-American by Athlon Sports and was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award. In 2013, he also received Freshman All-American awards from The Sporting News.

For the second year in a row, he was selected in the All-Pac-12 second team as a linebacker for the second year in a row. He also saw time as a running back, throwing the ball 28 times in nine games.

Jack tore the meniscus in his knee during a non-contact drill on September 22, 2015, causing a statement from coaches stating that he would not return for the remainder of the season. Jack was suspended from UCLA due to his rehabilitation and the 2016 NFL draft, according to head coach Jim Mora on October 6. His injury occurred two days before the fall quarter and he had already missed classes due to his knee surgery and dealing with his short-term immobility. Jack was widely regarded as a first-round draft candidate heading into the 2015 season.

Professional career

Jack was one of 39 linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was limited to the bench press due to his knee injury and ended third in the bench press for the 13th time among all participating linebackers. Jack appeared on UCLA's pro day on March 10, 2016, where he did the vertical jump, broad jump, and positional drills. His vertical jump would have ranked eighth out of all linebackers at the combine, and his broad jump would have ranked fourth. Reps and scouts from all 32 clubs attended to scout Jack and speak with him, including head coach Hue Jackson (Browns) and general manager Doug Whaley (Bills) and Les Snead (Rams). Jack spent time in the draft process with multiple NFL franchises, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, and the Oakland Raiders.

He returned to Indianapolis on April 14, 2016 to do another physical to check his knee and assess his recovery. Jack was positive he'd be able to play right away, but he revealed that his knee had degenerative characteristics that could require microfracture surgery. Jack was expected to be a top ten pick at the conclusion of the pre-draft process and was deemed as a prime first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and NFL analysts Charles Davis, Mike Mayock, Lance Zierlein, and Daniel Jeremiah ranked him as the top linebacker prospect in the draft. By ESPN, Jack was ranked as the second best overall player by NFL analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Lance Zierlein, and the third best overall player by NFL analyst Charles Davis.

With the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jack in the second round. The Jaguars traded their second (38th overall) and fifth round (146th overall) picks in the 2016 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens in order to jump two spots to 36th overall and draft Myles Jack. His exclusion from the first round was largely due to injuries over his knee. In 2016, Jack was the fifth linebacker chosen.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on May 13, 2016 that Jack had been promised three years, $6.33 million, plus a signing bonus of $2.80 million.

He competed against Dan Skuta in the startling strongside linebacker and took reps at the middle linebacker throughout training camp, as well as the starting strongside linebacker. When the Jaguars drafted him with the intention of him taking over for Paul Posluszny, he found him in his middle linebacker role. Jack is the backup outside linebacker for veterans Dan Skuta and Telvin Smith, according to head coach Gus Bradley, who named Jack the backup outside linebacker behind veterans Dan Skuta and Telvin Smith in the regular season.

In the Jacksonville Jaguars' season-opening 27–23 loss to the Green Bay Packers, he made his first appearance in the professional regular season. After Gordon's first solo tackle on Chargers' running back Melvin Gordon, Jack made his first solo tackle on the Chargers' running back Melvin Gordon following an 11-yard pass by Philip Rivers last week. Jack ended the Jaguars' 38–14 loss to the San Diego Chargers after tackling Gordon again on the following play. After losing a hip injury the previous week, Jack made his first appearance at a strongside linebacker on October 2, 2016. With four combined tackles and a pass deflection, he won by 30–27 over the Indianapolis Colts. During the Jaguars' 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jack had a season-high five combined tackles and his first sacking with teammate Tyson Alu on quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Gus Bradley, the head coach of the Houston Texans, was fired after losing by nine games in a row and a 2–12 record on Week 15. Doug Marrone, the assistant head coach/offensive line coach, was appointed interim head coach for the last two games of the season. Jack had 24 combined tackles (18 solo), two pass deflections, and was suspended for half a game and ten starts in his rookie season in 2016.

Doug Marrone, the Jaguars' interim head coach, was promoted to full-time head coach on January 9, 2017 and retained Todd Wash as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator. Myles Jack will begin as the starting middle linebacker and Paul Posluszny will take over the starting strongside linebacker position previously held by Jack and the recently departed Dan Skuta, according to the Jaguars' coaching staff on April 18, 2017. With the help of teammate Paul Posluszny, Jack made the change from middle linebacker to middle linebacker during training camp. During the Jaguars' first preseason game against the New England Patriots, Jack reverted to his strongside linebacker role after he struggled to adjust to his new position and had trouble doing the necessary duties. Jack Marrone, the starting strongside linebacker, and Paul Posluszny the starting middle linebacker were both selected by head coach Doug Marrone, with Telvin Smith the starting weakside linebacker and Paul Posluszny the starting middle linebacker.

During the 29–7 victory, he started the Jacksonville Jaguars' season-opener with the Houston Texans, totaling 14 tackles (eight solo) and the most important of them all. In the Jaguars' 37–16 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Jack made six combined tackles and suffered his first solo sack on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. As the Jaguars routed the Indianapolis Colts 27–0, he collected eight combined tackles, broke up a pass, and fired fired Jacoby Brissett. He played 90 percent (66 solo), three pass deflections, and two dismissals in 16 games and 16 starts in his second season. His 90 tackles came in second on the team, behind only Telvin Smith who had 102 combined tackles.

In their first season under head coach Doug Marrone, the Jaguars finished first in the AFC South with a 10–6 record. In a 10-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wildcard game, Jack played his first appearance in playoff history, recording six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and a sack. During a 45-42 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional round, he made six combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted an interception. During the Jaguars' 24-20 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship on January 21, 2018, he had seven combined tackles. He was part of a tumultuous play in the fourth quarter after he sparked a fumble by the Patriots' running back Dion Lewis and recovered it. Jack was returning it for a defensive touchdown that would have put the Jaguars up 26-20 against the Patriots, but the referees who had no idea Jack was down after recovering the play.

Jack pulled a 32-yard pick six off Eli Manning in the Jaguars' 2018 season opener against the New York Giants. Jack appeared in all 16 games, total tackles, four quarterback hits, one intercepting, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

On August 31, 2019, Jack signed a four-year, $57 million contract extension with a promise of $33 million. Jack was disqualified for throwing a punch at Demarcus Robinson during Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs. With a knee injury, he was put on injured reserve on December 5, 2019. Through 11 games and 11 starts, he ended the season with 66 tackles, four passes defensed, 0.5 sacks, and an interceptor.

During the 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, Jack saw 11 tackles and his first sack of the season on Philip Rivers.

Jack was released by the Jaguars on March 15, 2022, 2022. He was the last of the Sacksonville Defense on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jack signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 17, 2022.

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