Myles Jack withdraws from UCLA, declares for NFL draft

UCLA linebacker Myles Jack will enter the 2016 NFL draft despite suffering a season-ending knee injury, head coach Jim Mora announced Tuesday.

“He’s taken his chips and he’s shoving them into the middle,” Mora said. “We hope he draws a good hand.”

A projected first-round pick, Jack has withdrawn from school just two weeks after tearing his anterior meniscus, an injury that will sideline him for four to six months. He appeared in three games this season, recording 15 tackles as well as a game-sealing interception against BYU, the final play of his collegiate career.

He was an All-Pac-12 second-team selection in 2014, and was one of the most versatile talents in college football — a 6-foot-1, 245-pound athlete who could line up as a goal-line back or match up against wide receivers. Still, the fact that he only played in three games as a junior gave Mora some pause about the decision to go pro.

“I’ve been in 25 draft rooms, and I’ve never seen a guy taken off of that,” Mora said. “Never. I worry about that for him. I have a very personal relationship with Myles and his family. … I obviously want the best for him, and I hope it all works out the way that he plans for it to work out.”