Myles Jack, ex-UCLA standout, expects full clearance in March

PHOENIX -- Former UCLA linebacker/running back Myles Jack has not been cleared to fully participate in the NFL scouting combine next week, almost five months after tearing his lateral meniscus.

The 20-year-old junior told ESPN on Tuesday that he will do the bench press, attend team interviews and undergo the medical check at the combine in Indianapolis.

Jack, who injured his knee Sept. 22, was cleared to begin running and cutting Jan. 22. He expects to be fully cleared in early March.

During media day at the Fischer Institute in Phoenix, where Jack has been training since October, Jack didn't participate in any of the on-field drills the other draft prospects went through, instead riding a stationary bike and working off to the side.

"Personally, I feel great," Jack said. "The knee, I can do whatever I can do with the knee, running, cutting. It feels great. It feels like a new knee."

Jack said he's prepared for team doctors and trainers to poke, prod and twist his knee every which way in Indianapolis to determine if it's healthy enough to risk a first-round pick on him.

"It'll check out fine," Jack said.

Jack's meniscus was torn completely off the bone and was resewn onto the tibia. He wasn't able to run for the first four months following surgery. The timeframe for recovery from that surgery usually takes six to eight months.

Until Jack is fully cleared by doctors to return to all football activities, he'll continue to work on getting used to his body again.

"I feel stronger, faster, I've gotten a lot of work in," he said. "Just working combine drills and stuff like that ... drops, working pass rush and everything. I've been working on all that."