The novelty of Myles Jack might have worn off just a little bit.
UCLA's rising star two-way player saw his star rise a little too fast for his liking and he's still getting used to it. He's being picked on by opposing offenses and defenses as they've figured out that he's got a quick trigger.
Jack is not a victim, he insists - it's just football. If anything, it's a sign of respect for the "running backer" as he calls himself.
Except this week, he's facing Washington, where there's still some bad blood between Jack and the fanbase he spurned in Seattle, just across the lake from his Bellevue, Wash., home. You might remember the finger-licking incident from last year's game against the Huskies, although Jack prefers if you didn't.
"I talked to (head coach Jim Mora) about this," Jack said. "This is going to be a week where you guys will see my emotions definitely tested at the highest of high levels. I'm definitely going to work on that and I promise I'm not going to do anything where I do something like put seven points up on the board like I did last week. You have my word."
What he's referring to is the penalties - an unsportsmanlike conduct and a facemask penalty - that ultimately led to Arizona's only scoring drive in last Saturday's win over the Wildcats at the Rose Bowl. Opposing offense players said something that "wasn't too nice" to Jack and he reacted.
"I'm sure buttons will be pushed and I may push a little buttons myself," Jack said. "But as far as 15-yard penalties and stuff that will hurt the team, that won't happen. I've learned, but I think I've become, I don't want to say a target but people are going to test me. I just have to learn how to just not say anything back."
This week, Jack is going up against Washington's own two-way player in Shaq Thompson. Another "running backer", but Jack doesn't expect Thompson to test him with trash talk on the field. The two are good friends off of it and there's a mutual respect for one another.
"He knows how it feels to go back-and-forth and learn two different playbooks, get twice as many plays and over 100 snaps and I think that's cool," he said. "I don't know if there is anyone else in the country (playing two ways) but we're the ones making the most noise doing it. I give nothing but respect to him for doing it."
Thompson played running back only in the Huskies' win over Colorado last week. That's a move that Myles Jack made last year against Arizona State and a move he's still not willing to make, despite continued pleas from running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu.
Gallery: UCLA defeats Arizona, 17-7
And why would he? Jack is second in the team in tackles and he's ranked No. 15 in the Pac-12. Yes, he is dominant in red-zone and short-yardage situations and he has the ability the break off long runs. But would he be able to sustain that if he was an every-down back? Not to mention, Paul Perkins and quarterback Brett Hundley have firmly established the running game, unlike last year when the depth was significantly thinned and the Bruins had no other options.
"When he's in the game, obviously he's in the game for a reason and he's going to get the rock and maybe make some special things happen for us," Hundley said. "But I'm glad he stayed on defense, he's good at linebacker."
It's a big game for Jack this week, maybe even the biggest of his young career. He's looking forward to playing in front of his mom and little brother but he knows there will be a lot of noise that he'll need to block out - running back noise, fan noise and maybe even some from his former teammates.
He promises to keep his head.
"You'll see this week, you'll see an improvement in my behavior," he said. "I talked to my mom about this and I talked to Coach Mora about this, I'm working on it, I'm telling you."
