/ STAFF WRITER
Fresh off a 1 1/2-hour workout, former UCLA linebacker Jayon Brown relaxes into a padded chair at an oval table at Santa Ana’s Athletic Republic training center. His shoulder-length dreadlocks are wound tightly into an elaborate hairstyle somewhere between mohawk and beehive. With a laugh, the happy-go-lucky Brown succinctly sums up the first half of his UCLA career.
“Myles’ backup,” Brown jokes, referring to former UCLA linebacker Myles Jack.
The joke lands because, well, it’s true. Brown was indeed Jack’s backup.
Brown’s UCLA career didn’t blossom until Jack’s wilted when the latter suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the 2015 season and left school early to pursue the NFL.