BELLEVUE — Myles Jack kept his announcement short and sweet.

The soft-spoken Bellevue linebacker sat at a table wearing a gray sweatshirt from the state track and field championships. He thanked his friends, family — especially his mother, LaSonjia — coaches and teammates.

Then he reached under the table and pulled out a blue and gold UCLA hat Wednesday, confirming his commitment to coach Jim Mora and the Bruins.

"It just felt like the right place," Jack said. "It didn't really even wow me. It just felt like home."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound standout picked UCLA over Washington, Cal and Georgia Tech.

"He's a special kid," Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff said. "He lights up a room."

After a breakout sophomore season as a running back, Jack went through a growth spurt that prompted the Wolverines' coaching staff to see what he could do as a linebacker.

"He was incredible," Goncharoff said. "He's going to enter college at 17. He's growing like crazy. He's going to have a bright future and he's a bright kid."

Jack's combination of size, strength and speed made him one of the state's top prospects in the 2013 recruiting class.

Teammate Sean Constantine, a linebacker who committed to Washington in April, didn't make the decision easy. He did everything he could to push Jack to the Huskies.

"He was pushing really hard," Jack said. "He would take me on visits to UW every other weekend and just every day bring a UW shirt or post on my wall on Facebook. It was funny, but it was good."

In the end, though, Jack decided UCLA best fit what he was looking for in a university.

"At the end of the day, UCLA just felt right for me with academics," Jack said. "I really aspire to one day work for ESPN or NFL Network and I feel like UCLA could put me in the opportunity, because it's right down the street."

Mason Kelley: 206-464-8277 or mkelley@seattletimes.com