Call In the Middle Relief

At times last season, it was almost comical to watch UCLA’s football team play defense. Players seemingly running in every direction, missing tackle after tackle as opponents gained an average of 432.9 yards a game.

But it wasn’t funny to the player who was supposed to be the heart of that defense. As he watched -- often from the sideline while nursing the lingering effects of a high ankle sprain -- middle linebacker Justin London took every one of those yards as a personal affront.

“Any time you get injured, it’s really tough on you not only physically but mentally as well,” said London, a 6-foot-1, 234-pound senior who was fourth on the team with 57 tackles despite sitting out two games and playing sparingly in three others because of his injury.

“It was difficult to see my boys out there getting run on because the guys sitting in my spot were not quite getting the job done.”

With London out, Spencer Havner became the team’s top tackler, but Bruin coaches would rather use London as a rock in the middle and let Havner take more chances to wreak havoc from the opposite side.

“Now that I’m back and healthy, there’s no excuse why we shouldn’t have the No. 1 defense in the conference,” said London, who has 100 tackles, including 15 1/2 for losses, in his career. “I’m excited to go out there and prove it.”

Built in the mold of today’s prototypical middle linebacker, and mobile and strong enough to stuff opposing ground attacks (think Tedy Bruschi and Zach Thomas), London has been a defensive spark plug and vocal leader for the Bruins since he was second on the team in tackles as a sophomore.

Last season, UCLA was counting on him to help cover for an inexperienced defensive line.

But that changed when he suffered a severe ankle injury in practice two weeks before the Bruins’ opener against Oklahoma State. It got worse for London when he watched the Cowboys’ Vernand Morency rush for 261 yards in a 31-20 victory over the Bruins, who gave up 426 yards rushing at the Rose Bowl.

“They ran the ball 68 times in that game. Sixty-eight times!” London said after a recent practice at Spaulding Field. It didn’t help that the number was actually 67.

“It still hurts me even now to know I didn’t get a chance to play in a game like that,” he said.

Although he was less than 100%, London rushed back into the lineup, which turned out to be a mistake.

Two weeks after he returned, London lasted three plays before reinjuring his ankle against Washington. He struggled the remainder of the season.

As difficult as it was when he wasn’t playing, London said, “The worst moments were on Sundays when I watched myself play the day before” at far less than full strength.

After the season, London had surgery to clean out loose deposits in the ankle. It has been a long road back since -- exhausting morning weightlifting sessions, followed by grueling cardiovascular and rehabilitation workouts in the afternoon.

“Rehabs can be frustrating, and mine wasn’t any different,” London said. “Once you hurt an ankle, it’s then always easy to tweak again.

“I definitely rushed it back too early, twice. I just continued to play on it, and it was more injured than we first thought. Then, the wear and tear certainly didn’t help it.”

Nearly a year since he first hurt his ankle, London is back in the middle of the Bruin defense during this year’s fall camp, and his teammates are happy to have him.

“It’s so important to have him out there, not only because of his skill, but also his leadership,” sophomore fullback Michael Pitre said. “You can just feel the desire that he has every time he’s on the field. Just watching that, from the offensive standpoint, you know that any time you’re watching No. 9, you know he’s giving it everything that he has.”

London is not afraid to get in a teammate’s face to get results. It’s a style he began to shape playing for his father, Tommy, in Roanoke, Va., youth leagues.

“Our D-line is kind of mellow; we just go out there and do our job,” junior defensive tackle Kevin Brown said. “But with Justin out there, he makes things different. He’s out there always yelling, getting you fired up.

“To know that he’s out there makes you a lot more comfortable. You know he’ll cover your mistakes. Guys like that, they give you confidence.”

It’s a role London gladly accepts.

“Everyone knows that we struggled last year on defense,” London said. “I wasn’t out there much early, and then when I was, I wasn’t able to do much.

“My ankle is very strong now. The only thing is that I have to keep my treatment up. I know that I’m still in the point of recovery. I’ve had to battle back, and I can’t wait to show that the long process was worth it.”