Shortly after responding to his now former head coach's public comments on his departure from school, Myles Jack sought to clarify his comments further.

The former UCLA linebacker appeared on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" radio show Thursday to discuss his decision to withdraw from UCLA to devote the majority of his time and energy to training for the 2016 NFL Draft.

"I felt like I had done enough at UCLA," Jack said on the air. "I felt like I had done it. In regards to my injury, I wanted to have the best training possible and put myself in the best position to be ready for the combine. That's pretty much where I was at. I wanted to make the right decision. And it was definitely a tough one. If it was up to me, I'd be out there playing right now."

The versatile linebacker also shared his opinion on amateurism in collegiate sports and said earning money for playing football also factored into his decision.

"When you see people making money off of your likeness and your name... nobody else wears No. 30 at UCLA. That jersey is mine," Jack said. "I would like to receive compensation for what I've done. That's definitely something you're thinking about. I took all of that into consideration."

UCLA head football coach Jim Mora called Jack's decision "risky" at a press conference on Tuesday. He told reporters his experience in the NFL indicated to him that evaluators may be wary of Jack's position on the field since he would split time at different ones.

Jack then spoke to NFL Media on Wednesday and said he was "surprised" by Mora's comments, since their private conversation apparently had a different tone. He told Mike and Mike Thursday that he has since spoken to Mora again and that the coach is fully behind him and that the two "are cool."

Jack then confirmed that the season-ending knee injury that brought about this decision was, in fact, a torn ligament.

Before the season, Jack was viewed as a surefire first-round draft pick, but it is not clear how his injury will affect his draft stock. But since it was still too early for his stock to even be concrete, his decision to focus full time on physical rehab and training could have a major impact as well as his skill.

(Source: ESPN.com)

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