UCLA’s Soso Jamabo runs with fellow freshman Josh Rosen sooner than expected

UCLA was on the verge of finishing off California in the third quarter of last Thursday’s football game and Soso Jamabo, a freshman running back, was in the thick of the Bruins’ burial touchdown drive.

Yet he couldn’t help but think ahead.

Josh Rosen, the Bruins’ wunderkind freshman quarterback, was running things and Jamabo was at his side in the backfield.

“I was thinking that Josh and I were going to have some fun the next three years,” Jamabo said.

Rosen was handed the keys to the offense when the season began. Jamabo, a Texas-sized football star from Plano, Texas, was still on a learner’s permit. That plan may now be accelerated.

UCLA’s Paul Perkins, who led the Pac-12 Conference in rushing last season, left the California game with a knee injury. Nate Starks, his backup, was already out with what UCLA has reported as a head injury.

So when the No. 24 Bruins play Colorado at the Rose Bowl on Saturday afternoon, the running game could consist of first-year freshmen Jamabo and Bolu Olorunfunmi, with Jamabo likely to take the lead role.

“We threw them into the fire this year,” running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu said. “Coach [Jim] Mora and I discussed whether to redshirt these guys. We decided, ‘No, throw them in there and let them grow as they go.’”

Jamabo is second on the team with 278 yards rushing after gaining 79 yards against Cal.

“It’s a little different coming from high school,” said Jamabo, who played at Plano West High. “A lot of guys [in the college game] were big coming out of high school.”

Jamabo rivaled Rosen in recruiting circles. Both were ranked No.1 nationally at their positions by Scout.com. Jamabo gained 5,044 yards rushing and scored 68 touchdowns in his high school career.

“Texas football is different, as everybody knows,” Mora said. “If you’ve ever watched ‘Friday Night Lights,’ that’s pretty accurate. It’s different. It’s serious.”

That culture identified Jamabo early on.

He made a quick impression on Roger Campbell, president of the Plano West booster club. “I first saw him when he was in elementary school, and even then he was a man playing with boys,” Campbell said.

Someone like that doesn’t remain a secret in Texas football. In his first game as a sophomore, Jamabo went 72 yards the second time he touched the ball.

By his senior year, Jamabo was a celebrity. He gained 490 yards and scored six touchdowns in one game.

“Kids would ask me for my socks after a game,” Jamabo said. “I was like, ‘Man, these kids really like me.’ It was fun.”

It bordered on too much fun at times.

During his senior year, with recruiting speculation out of control, Jamabo dramatically announced he had narrowed his choices to ITT Tech and the University of Phoenix. There were also a few post-touchdown penalties for excessive celebration.

“He played like a man, but he had a lot of little boy in him,” Campbell said.

Said Jamabo: “Once you start getting all the attention, all the All-American stuff, it’s a cool deal. But you just have to stay humble.”

That became easier after a prom night incident, when Jamabo led police on a seven-minute car chase. He was never charged, but he said a lesson was learned.

“It was immaturity,” Jamabo said. And a wake-up call.

“I realized that I have to make better decisions,” Jamabo said.

He has a tutor for that.

“Having a leader like Paul [Perkins], a young man who is a self-starter, helps,” Polamalu said. “When the coaches are not around, the younger players see the work Paul puts in. You hope it rubs off.”

It does.

“I realized how much I could learn from Paul Perkins,” Jamabo said. “He gets up early. He gets in the training room early. After practice, he teaches us his routines.”

Perkins said Jamabo has “come a long way in understanding both defensive schemes and what it takes to be a running back at this level.”

The physical ability was already there.

“He is so explosive, you never know when his going to spin out of a tackle and break loose,” Perkins said.

Jamabo eased into the season, with his opportunities usually coming with the Bruins in control of games. Against California, Jamabo gained 67 of his 79 yards after Perkins was injured.

The future looked good, for Rosen and Jamabo.

“It’s going to be cool,” offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said, “watching those guys grow.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

Twitter: @cfosterlatimes