London's dream
Former UCLA linebacker Justin London has not given up on his NFL dream, and here is a story from his hometown paper in Roanoke, Va., to prove it.
I thought London was a top prospect before the coaching staff asked him to play his junior season basically on one leg because of an ankle injury, and I thought London never recovered.
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
London was a good prospect who played hurt. No doubt and very admirable. But at the end of the day, he's not in the NFL because he was simply not a good tackler. I saw plenty of missed tackles and taking bad angles from London. I'm sure injuries had a role and he really wanted to be out there helping, but that may have indeed hurt his chances. Scouts evaluate what they see on the field.
Justin London was one of my favorite players during his time at UCLA. I still sport my #9 Jersey to UCLA games remembering how much heart he put into every game. I wish him all the luck, and hopes he gets the opportunity to show how much talent he has...
The sports movie that really got to me was "Friday Night Lights," when the star high school player who was headed to USC takes a terrible hit to his leg which begins his downfall and eventual dropout.
London's situation in a way is worse, because he had a known weakness, and yet the coaches demanded he play, which undoubtedly aggravated his pre-existing physical problem. Sad, but these coaches are under terrible pressure, and of course the kids are under scholarship which translates to the coaches feeling they can exact effort out of kids who instead should be in rehabilition.