Hale Steps It Up Inside After London’s Injury

The ankle injury that has hobbled senior linebacker Justin London the last couple of weeks has given UCLA a sneak preview of freshman John Hale, who appears to possess a bright future at the position.

It’s been a quick ascent for Hale, who earned his first college start against Oklahoma on Sept. 17 at outside linebacker, where he remained for four games.

UCLA defensive coordinator Larry Kerr moved Hale to inside linebacker against Oregon State on Oct. 22 after London started having trouble with his ankle. Hale made five tackles against the Beavers and then made one tackle last week while splitting time with London during UCLA’s 30-27 overtime victory over Stanford.

Hale said he prefers playing inside because “I feel like I can run downhill and hit people with my hat, which I love to do. At outside linebacker, I was up on the line near the box pursuing the fullback most of the time.”

Kerr said the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder’s switch inside might be permanent.

“He’s a good player at both places, but I think inside really is his home,” Kerr said. “He’s very physical, he really moves well inside the box, and he will take on those big blockers and knock them back. He does a good job.”

Hale attributed his drop-off in tackles last week to being confronted with a more complex scheme than in his first week at his new position.

“Against Oregon State I felt great,” he said. “We used a very simple scheme because it was my first week at linebacker. Last week, we definitely put a lot more stuff in, so I wasn’t as sure what I was supposed to be doing, so I couldn’t do it 100%. This week, I feel like I’ve definitely got a grasp on the scheme, and so I feel like I can play to my full potential.”

London, who said he feels “about the same” as last week, when he participated in about two-thirds of the defensive plays, expects big things from his protege.

“He’s a big, young kid and he has fun playing the game,” London said. “It’s fun to see him out there running around. He’s going to be good in his time.”

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