Josh Rosen is a dbag

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think its his injury history.

May be that is all it is. I know that the media loves to churn the pot to create controversy and outrage.

 

[Merlin]

Yes I agree, but Jay Cutler has the talent and put in the work, but lacked the filter too. Just an example.

You're right. And Cutler is probably the reason Rosen slid, with teams gettin cold feet thinking about all that. I never did like Cutler and still don't. He's just not an accountable leader.

But I think Rosen is a different dude in important ways. After his freshman year he was very hard on himself about his failures (i.e. turnovers) that came in their biggest losses. Really hope I'm wrong, but I have felt all along that Rosen is going to be outstanding.

 

[dieterbrock]

Jay Cutler never played on a team that came close to a winning record
Rosen played on lousy UCLA teams and with him, they had a winning record. Without him? Awful

 

[Mojo Ram]

View: https://twitter.com/mikejurecki/status/989693970312716289

 

[Mojo Ram]

I like people who let you know where they stand, and aren't afraid to let others know about it...but that type of honesty can snow ball your ass when your young and asked to be a professional. I'll be more interested in what Rosen says and how he conducts himself when the real bullets start flying and his team isn't winning games. The AZ media is soft so at least he's got that going for him.

 

[Mojo Ram]

"If I'm not (the starter), I'm going to support the team," Rosen said. "I'm not Team Josh Rosen playing on the Arizona Cardinals. I'm part of the Arizona Cardinals and I want to win Super Bowls for the Arizona Cardinals, and I think over time, that'll happen."

"Maybe if I shut up these last three years, I could've been picked higher but I don't want that," he said. "I want to be me. The Arizona Cardinals know what they're getting. They're not going to get a kid that's going to say stupid things and piss people off unnecessarily. They're going to get a kid that everyone knows who they're getting every single day that I walk in the building."


http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/s...h-pick-says-there-were-nine-mistakes-ahead-me

 

[Tano]

Josh Rosen is too injury prone and after meeting up with the Rams - both Bradford and Rosen will be out for the year

Rams have a history of taking out Cardinal QB's and it is going to be worse this year.

 

[thirteen28]

I've never seen a player be that disrespectful, arrogant and entitled. Maybe his attitude is why he dropped. What the hell is the point of slamming the 9 picks ahead of you? Why disrespect the players and ball clubs?

Exactly, and that's the whole crux of my beef with his statement.

If he would have said something like "no disrespect to the guys picked ahead of me, they are all great players, but I am the best player in the draft and should have gone first" it would have completely changed the perception of what he said. Confident? Yes. Cocky? Without a doubt. But disrespectful of others picked ahead of him? My hypothetical statement most certainly is not.

Be confident and cocky all you want. But when you insult a bunch of other players by referring to them as "mistakes" on what is undoubtedly the biggest night of their lives, you lose me.

Can't wait to see him buried under a big pile of Brockers, Donald, and Suh.

 

[Ram65]

The guy certainly doesn't hold his feelings back say what you will about that. Speaking your mind about your own situation isn't a huge deal to me. What will be interesting is when he starts getting ticked at teammates. What happens when he is in the game getting his ass laid out every other play by the Rams D-line? Will he keep it all in or will he start being a smart ass prick to his o-line and receivers? Rosen might be the best QB in the draft talent wise. Will he be able to keep his teammates loyalty as a leader though? Having the locker room hate you is a quick way to not making it in the NFL.

I like people who let you know where they stand, and aren't afraid to let others know about it...but that type of honesty can snowball your ass when your young and asked to be a professional. I'll be more interested in what Rosen says and how he conducts himself when the real bullets start flying and his team isn't winning games. The AZ media is soft so at least he's got that going for him.

Yes it's all about moving forward and how he acts in the future. I wish he didn't go the Cardinals. He has the talent and drive. Nothing terrible about saying he was mad about dropping to 10 (Top 10 get bigger 5th year money). Let's see how he leads his teammates. Hopefully he is a jerk and they hate him. I don't think what he said was a big deal.

 

[TSFH Fan]

I like Josh -- started following him right before UCLA.
He is who he is, knows who he is and is comfortable in his own skin.
I'm sure some would like Josh to simply say things like he's going to give it 110%, take it one day at a time, and, Good Lord willing, things will work out, but that's not him.
As far as dropping in the draft, if he's being honest, Josh knew what to expect because the same type of thing happened in HS -- he dreamed of going to Stanford, got in academically, but guess what? Stanford didn't offer because of, drum roll please, attitude:

View: https://twitter.com/molly_knight/status/638074145851379712



He's 1-0 against Goff. Goff's team was ranked and Rosen's team was not.
I'm hoping for the best for Rosen, except when he plays the Rams and in key other games, and I hope he wears his F-Trump hat around AZ.

Best wishes to Josh.

 

[Mackeyser]

I just read his comments and saw a brief interview.

freak him.

What an arrogant clod. He even looks like a bust waiting to happen.

I can't root for a guy like this, plus he's in the division, so he has to flame out for me to be happy.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/s...h-pick-says-there-were-nine-mistakes-ahead-me

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The longer Josh Rosen waited in the green room inside AT&T Stadium, the more mad -- and more motivated -- he became.

After being selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 10th overall pick Thursday night in the NFL draft, Rosen told reporters that he was "ticked" and "really angry" he fell outside the top three.

"There were nine mistakes ahead of me," Rosen said.

But when the Cardinals finally selected him after trading three picks this year to the Oakland Raiders to move up and snag the former UCLA quarterback, Rosen was relieved and inspired yet still unhappy all at once.

"I thought I should've been picked at 1, 2 or 3," Rosen said. "I dropped, and I was ticked. I was really, really angry. I wasn't really showing it. I was trying to keep calm, cool, composed. But I thought I was going to get picked, and I thought I was going to have to put on a face and try and fake happiness. But for some reason, right when I got that call, that's not what happened. I got really happy and really motivated.

"All I wanted to do was basically get on a plane right then and go straight to Arizona and start working. It was definitely a surprise when I got that phone call in terms of the emotions I was feeling. But I think everything happens for a reason."

Rosen found a home he seems happy with, and the Cardinals drafted their quarterback of the future. Rosen's selection marked the first time four quarterbacks were taken in the top 10 in the common draft era.

General manager Steve Keim said he did "quite a bit of work" on Rosen, who said his visit with the Cardinals was "just like any other visit." He didn't leave Arizona feeling like the Cardinals would certainly draft him, but he didn't leave sensing they would pass if given the opportunity.

C'mon Les. He's a competitor. Is he supposed to feel he's the best in the draft AND not have any feelings about it at the same time?

Brady said the same damn thing when he was drafted. Granted, it was the 6th round, but he had that same chip. He STILL has that chip.

I end up defending Rosen for saying things I see nothing wrong with. What's he supposed to say?

"um, yeah. I'm smart and all and teams prefer guys who just spit meaningless cliches 24/7, so I figure I'll go in the third round and be quiet because I'm only supposed to have a football IQ, not a regular IQ."

Dude's a perfectionist. If you watched the "Soul and Science", you could see Rosen react to missing a 30 yard throw by 10 inches...even though it was still well within the normal catch radius, it was outside the optimal spot.

There's a reason he bonded with Aaron Rodgers so strongly.

I'm upset that AZ got BY FAR the best QB in this draft.

We all know what a real douchebag is and Rosen is FAR from that.

The ding on Rosen is that he refuses to be a slave to the damned annoying sports cliches every minute. I love that.

You think Lamar Jackson wasn't thinking the same thing? I do. You could tell he was PISSED. But he "stuck to the script."

I'd rather...if they can...that players be human. I realize that players who aren't media savvy rely on the cliches to help them acclimate to the media. However, if a player can actually get past the cliches, I'm all for it.

 

[Mackeyser]

He acted like a petulant spoiled child and disrespected peers, and on the biggest night of his life so far he showed his ass.

Even seen another guy fall in the draft and act like that?

I'm going to call him Josh Ball from now on.

We just not gonna agree on this young man, brother, so I'll just leave it at that.

I want us to abuse all the QBs we face, so for AZ... Bradford, Rosen, Glennon...and the WR who played some QB in college...

I just see Rosen totally differently.

He might be what people say, but he wasn't at UCLA and I don't think he will be at AZ.

The biggest knock may be his durability and in this division...that's not a small thing.

Funny... if a DB had all that "swag", no one would say boo about it.

 

[LesBaker]

Yes I agree, but Jay Cutler has the talent and put in the work, but lacked the filter too. Just an example.

I've always said the biggest issue Cutler had was he had way, WAY too much faith in that cannon of an arm. He always thought he could "get it in there" and would throw into tight coverage more than most QB's would. It never works out well, too many INT's and defended passes. It never got coached out of him and it hurt his career IMO.

 

[Merlin]

I like people who let you know where they stand, and aren't afraid to let others know about it...but that type of honesty can snow ball your ass when your young and asked to be a professional. I'll be more interested in what Rosen says and how he conducts himself when the real bullets start flying and his team isn't winning games. The AZ media is soft so at least he's got that going for him.

I think the Cards have done a great job of flyin below the radar in making their team viable. Still think they'll be the cellar team in this division, but they have two QBs now with a lot of talent, both of whom have a lot to prove in this league, in Bradford and Rosen.

It's an interesting dynamic. Having Rosen behind Bradford is a damn healthy depth chart at a key position too. Not going to underestimate AZ this year because of that, along with the fact they have some real good pieces on that roster.

 

[LesBaker]

Brady said the same damn thing when he was drafted. Granted, it was the 6th round, but he had that same chip. He STILL has that chip.

Brady didn't say anything close to this. Not even in the same zip code.

 

[JackDRams]

I think the Cards have done a great job of flyin below the radar in making their team viable. Still think they'll be the cellar team in this division, but they have two QBs now with a lot of talent, both of whom have a lot to prove in this league, in Bradford and Rosen.

It's an interesting dynamic. Having Rosen behind Bradford is a damn healthy depth chart at a key position too. Not going to underestimate AZ this year because of that, along with the fact they have some real good pieces on that roster.

There’s no such thing as a healthy depth chart when Bradford is on it.

 

[Mackeyser]

The guy certainly doesn't hold his feelings back say what you will about that. Speaking your mind about your own situation isn't a huge deal to me. What will be interesting is when he starts getting ticked at teammates. What happens when he is in the game getting his ass laid out every other play by the Rams D-line? Will he keep it all in or will he start being a smart ass prick to his o-line and receivers? Rosen might be the best QB in the draft talent wise. Will he be able to keep his teammates loyalty as a leader though? Having the locker room hate you is a quick way to not making it in the NFL.

He's never that I recall called out a teammate or thrown some fellow player under the bus.

As well, he disavowed the cliches and said, "I'm not gonna be an asshole and act like my s#it doesn't stink. I'm gonna go in and earn the respect of my teammates."

Sounds really straightforward to me. I think he gets it.

For comparison, I think Sam Darnold is a meathead and I literally cringe when he's asked even the most basic questions. I get dizzy from all the poorly delivered cliches. Ugh.

 

[Merlin]

There’s no such thing as a healthy depth chart when Bradford is on it.

Touche. Meant healthy in the talent/figurative sense lol.

 

[TSFH Fan]

FWIW, from 2016:

Look Who's Talking: Shielded from media in 2015, UCLA QB Josh Rosen made waves on social media and is ready for close-up
https://www.si.com/college-football...h-rosen-bonafide-star-how-will-he-handle-fame

ROBERT BECK/SI
By PETE THAMEL
August 08, 2016
[video: 13724850]

This story appears in the Aug. 15, 2016 issue of Sports Illustrated. Read the rest of the college football preview and subscribe to the magazine here.

Josh Rosen arrives early to room 170 in Dodd Hall and plops down in the back row. He's seated behind two young women, one sipping green juice and the other reading the label on a Vitamin Water Zero. Rosen is UCLA's sophomore starting quarterback and the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL draft, which means he may one day be studied in the class that's about to begin: Communications Studies 157, an investigation of fame and celebrity in the age of social media.

During the next 125 minutes lecturer Steve Peterson holds forth on everything from the Kardashians to Billy Ray Cyrus's mullet. Like many summer classes at UCLA, this one has a high concentration of foreign students, and most don't recognize Rosen. "We've got like nine kids from Lebanon," Rosen says. "It's pretty tight."

Rosen—his own sandy blond hair a picture of sculpted randomness—is wearing a black T-shirt on which Mickey Mouse melts like the Wicked Witch of the West. He pulls out his homework assignment from a UCLA-issued backpack with ROSEN FOOTBALL embroidered on it. The paper, "Transitioning From Childhood Stardom to Adulthood," includes research on Taylor Swift and Moises Arias, though the 19-year-old Rosen could have been the subject.

When he came to Westwood in January 2015, he was among the most heralded recruits in school history, ranking 12th on Scout.com. Rosen won the starting job in camp, then completed 60.0% of his passes for 3,670 yards and 23 touchdowns and was named the Pac‑12's offensive freshman of the year. After an 8–5 finish the Bruins are the consensus pick to win the Pac-12 South this year, and they have changed from the spread to a more pro-style offense to better suit their 6' 4", 220-pound triggerman. One NFL scout says that Rosen is already the top quarterback prospect in the FBS; after the April draft, UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. said that if Rosen had been eligible he would have been picked ahead of Cal QB Jared Goff, who went No. 1. "I'm not comparing him to Peyton Manning in the NFL," says Mora, who as an assistant with the Saints got to know Manning when he was a high school senior in New Orleans. "But at this stage of his career—essentially the same point—he's the same guy in terms of football intelligence and work ethic."

And yet Rosen has also showed signs of immaturity—two years ago he and some friends rearranged a neighbor's lawn ornaments in sexually suggestive positions—and just plain poor judgment. Since arriving at UCLA he has set off a social media firestorm over presidential politics, deleted at least one provocative Instagram post and been forced to apologize to the school. The coach is constantly asking Rosen whom he wants to be: Peyton Manning or Johnny Manziel?

"I'm not going to f‑‑‑‑‑‑ get in trouble for drugs or anything like that, but I don't want to be this crystal-clean guy with perfect responses," says Rosen. "I'm not going to pretend to be 50. I just want to be happy and enjoy the experiences I have and take advantage of every opportunity I've been given."

Josh Rosen throws darts in the living room of his off-campus apartment, which is lit exclusively by white Christmas lights. He moved into the second-floor shanty this summer, joining teammates and SAE fraternity brothers Dylan Luther and Adam Searl. Rosen could have his choice of housing, but he's picked this place with these guys—both walk-ons—in an effort to have a more typical college experience. The pad is an ode to Rosen's moment before his moment, a quintessential collegiate cocoon in which he'll complete his transition to what's next—slowly.

The only house rule is posted on the wall: miss dartboard—must take a shot or shotgun a beer. A yellow SAE flag hangs on another wall, next to a 65-inch, 4K flat screen and above the instruments for Rock Band. Rosen's decorative touch is the silver disco ball hanging in the corner. "Can you dry‑clean a couch?" Rosen asks between throws. "Like, it's pretty disgusting."

A shelf spans the width of the room, displaying 68 empty beer bottles, all different brands, from Stella to Rebel IPA to Pabst Blue Ribbon. Rosen says that because he moved in just a few weeks ago, he hasn't added any empties to the shrine. Luther assures him that many taste buds had been sacrificed: "There were some really, really gross ones."

Rosen considers playing Rock Band to put off a "binge studying" session, then extends his procrastination by pondering whether a dartboard can get too many holes in it and what Andrew Luck's Stanford dorm room looked like. Looking around, he asks hopefully, "Is this the frattiest room you've ever been in?"

There's much more to Rosen than playing ball and being a bro. He's on track to graduate with a degree in economics in three years and holds a 3.2 GPA. The books in his bedroom range from Wolf of Wall Street to Unbroken to Breakfast of Champions. "I hate reading," he says. "But I'm trying to force myself because studies have shown that it's literally the only way to matter-of-factly boost your IQ." He envies Luck for having the "raw IQ" to graduate from Stanford with a degree in architectural engineering. He looks up to actor Leonardo DiCaprio for his environmental stances and to Tesla CEO Elon Musk "because he doesn't really care about money."

Rosen is nothing if not sure of himself, which he says is why he has clashed with adults and coaches over the years. He also admits he's not the most beloved guy on the UCLA sorority scene. "I have a superiority complex I need to get rid of," he says. "Girls that I am really good homies with tell me about how often they have to defend my image to girls that don't know me." Earlier in the day he described what he's looking for in a future partner: "My wife is going to be a fighter. I need someone to tell me to f‑‑‑ off every once in a while." While noting that the demands of football don't leave him enough time for a girlfriend, he acknowledged, "I'm not mature enough right now."

Atop Rosen's dresser sits a box of watches, ranging from a family Rolex that's more than 50 years old to a $25 timepiece that he wears on game days. The face of the watch doubles as essentially a galactic address, showing Earth as it sits in the wider view of the universe. "It reminds me to keep everything in perspective," he says. "Even if the whole world goes to s‑‑‑, understand that you are a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, little instance in a much larger universe and that you should just take things for what they are and move on."

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Josh Rosen grew up in a four-bedroom house in Manhattan Beach, Calif., that's now valued at nearly $8 million. The walls and bookshelves of the home are adorned with reminders of his family's vast success—his father's regional championship ice skating medals, his mother's journalism awards. One family friend calls the Rosens "American royalty."

Josh's father, Charles Rosen, is a spine surgeon who was on President Obama's short list for surgeon general. Josh's mother, Liz Lippincott, is a former editor at Sportstyle and Golfpro magazines, and both are accomplished ice dancers. (They divorced in 2012.) Lippincott, a Princeton graduate, is the great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Wharton, who founded the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She's also the great-great-granddaughter of Joshua Ballinger Lippincott, who founded the J.B. Lippincott publishing company in 1836. Josh, the middle of three kids, is named after him. "I come from a wealthy, affluent, educated family," Rosen says. "I mean, not like get-a-Lambo-for-my-16th-birthday- wealthy, but like, affluent."

USC tennis coach Peter Smith, a friend of the family, describes Rosen as the "classic kid from your overachieving family." Other than his genes, the thing that most set Rosen up for football stardom was a tennis career that peaked and fizzled before he became a teenager. Rosen was at times the No. 1–ranked 10-and-under player in Southern California, and he earned a national ranking at 12. "He could have been as good as he wanted to be," says Smith.

Rosen appeared on his way to at least a professional career, if not his dream of playing Roger Federer on Centre Court at Wimbledon. But the sport began to consume him: He'd feel invincible after tournament wins and inconsolable after each loss. "I was wondering why he was doing it," Charles says. "He just didn't enjoy it."

A right shoulder injury sidelined Rosen for a few months when he was 12, and it changed his perspective and the course of his sporting life. During his time away he discovered friends, girls and the camaraderie of team sports. He asked himself, Do I really want to go back to this sport that has been making me so miserable?

Rosen's tennis career did have an enduring impact. The 3.5 seconds a quarterback typically gets to throw feels like an eternity compared to reaction times in tennis. On the court he learned to trust his eyes and not overthink things. In football he exhibits a nonchalance after interceptions or negative plays—which has drawn criticism because some have taken it for indifference—but in tennis he knew he could lose dozens of points yet still win the match. Mistakes are part of the game. "I learned how I competitively function," he says. "Tennis meant too much for me. It ruined it. So when I play football, I've learned to sort of take things lightly and keep moving. I wouldn't want to lose the sport of football like I lost tennis."

Josh Rosen exits the Bruins' athletic facilities wearing a royal-blue T-shirt, gray workout pants—both LuluLemon—and Rainbow flip‑flops. He opens up the seat of his powder-blue Genuine Scooter and straps on an American-flag-patterned helmet. "Of course they do!" he says when asked if his teammates make fun of him. "But I also have a mustache."

Rosen doesn't drive the scooter for attention but because it makes numeric sense and because he loves the logic and certainty of numbers. It costs $237 per quarter to park a car at the facility; it's free to park the scooter. (Plus he can put it in the best spots.)

But that brand of pragmatism has not yet influenced all of his decision-making. Rosen wore a white "F‑‑‑ Trump" bandana around a blue baseball hat while playing at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., in April, a round he bought as an ironic birthday present for a friend who supported Bernie Sanders. "Every single employee on the entire course complimented me," Rosen says. He posted a picture on Instagram, where he has 21,400 followers, and it went viral. A faux controversy bloomed. Rolling Stone blogged about him. His teammates overwhelmingly supported him. Mora brought up the Manziel comparison. "I don't regret posting the photo at all," Rosen says, "because personally I thought it was hilarious."

He does regret that the profanity overshadowed his stance. "I want people to know I'm a real person, that I don't have someone running my Instagram, I don't have someone prewriting all of my interviews and stuff," Rosen says. "With Trump, I'm learning to evolve my message and understand how to convey the substance of it."

Nor did the fallout prevent him from speaking out again in May, when he posted a Los Angeles Times graphic on Instagram showing that UCLA's $280 million deal with Under Armour is the largest in NCAA history. Rosen captioned the post with, "We're still amateurs, though . . . . Gotta love non-profits. #NCAA." Rosen deleted that post and got an earful from Mora, who was disappointed that the quarterback's statement distracted from an important day for the university. "I said you can't do that," Mora recalls. "He says, 'So many of my teammates have nothing. I have a platform where I can advocate.' I said, 'I understand that, Josh, and respect it. But there's a bigger picture you have to understand.' "

Perhaps Rosen will learn some of that in Comm 157; social media has not always been kind to him. Last fall, inspired by a friend at Arizona State, he went online and paid $400 for an inflatable Lay‑Z‑Spa hot tub. ("It came down to my roommate and I saying, 'What are we going to be able to tell our kids we did in college?'") He installed it in his dorm room, using a 20-foot beer funnel for a hose. His mom even came over to see it. But a picture posted on Instagram by one of Rosen's friends ended up going viral, drawing coverage from TMZ. The school forced Rosen to remove the tub. He had to write an apology paper to the school, which he struggled to take seriously.

"I'm not a social media guy, I'm not," Rosen says. "It's just once every three weeks it's like, Hey, let's shake some s‑‑‑ up," Rosen says. "I like to be a real person and show personality. People appreciate that."

Juan Lainez/CSM

Josh Rosen dropped back on a third-and-16 in the fourth quarter of UCLA's 56–35 loss at Stanford last season and zipped a ball nearly 40 yards through two defenders to receiver Thomas Duarte. The touchdown pass showcased everything the NFL will value about Rosen—his lightning release, feathery touch and advanced ability to read defenses.


When Rosen jogged off the field after the play, Mora recalls him saying, "I figured, what the hell, I might as well throw it." Mora implored Rosen to do so more often: "Josh, you've got to make that throw at every point in the game, because that's a throw you're capable of making and others aren't. And that's an NFL throw." No one knows this better than Mora, who has coached both the Falcons (2004 to '06) and the Seahawks ('09). "Give me a little credit, I know what I have here," Mora says with a laugh. "Josh has a more pure throwing motion than just about any quarterback you'll ever see. It's a beautiful thing."

Rosen's football path is more remarkable for what he didn't do rather than what he did. He didn't hire a high-profile quarterback coach. ("I think it's all b.s.," he says. "I think they are just great marketers.") He also didn't go to one of Southern California's proven football strongholds, such as Mater Dei, Oaks Christian or Santa Margarita. And he didn't choose one of the usual Top 10 suspects despite getting scholarship offers from almost all of them. "I'm not a fan of, like, powerhouses," he says. "I like messing up the system. I'm all about equality and kind of bringing some phoenixes from the fire."

Rosen attended St. John Bosco High, a Catholic school in blue-collar Bellflower that appeared a strange fit for a Jewish kid from tony Manhattan Beach. His transition wasn't seamless. Early in his career Rosen overthought, delivering 40-second explanations to offensive coordinator Chad Johnson about a play that lasted six. Rosen developed a habit of throwing across his body, which often led to interceptions, and he made so many pre-snap adjustments that he'd get -delay-of-game penalties. Bosco coach Jason Negro found himself saying, "Everybody understands that you're an intelligent guy, Josh. You don't have to wear it on your sleeve."

The phoenix rose his junior season. Rosen led Bosco to a 16–0 record, its first CIF Southern Section championship and its first state title, in 2013, throwing for 3,200 yards and 39 touchdowns. That included three straight playoff games in which a running clock was evoked as a mercy rule. Bosco went 12–2 in Rosen's senior year, and along the way he endeared himself to the coaches and faculty by napping on the floor of the football offices, raising money through local businesses to help kids on his team pay for road trips and earning a weighted 4.8 GPA.

Four years earlier, on his visit to Bosco, Rosen had asked the coaches and academic officials if coming out of their school he'd be able to get into Stanford. Growing up the son of Penn and Princeton graduates, Rosen saw Stanford as a football Ivy. He attended a camp in Palo Alto the summer before his junior year but returned without a scholarship offer, heartbroken. Rosen recalls that he didn't click with the mild-mannered Cardinal coach David Shaw, who appeared put off by questions about the depth chart. Shaw says the Cardinal coaches simply decided to not take a quarterback in that class because of roster numbers.

Rosen returned to Bosco devastated but now calls the snub "probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he says. "I'm not Stanford, and I would have hated it. It was good for me because it killed my ego a little bit."

Still, Rosen's ego remained an issue. During the summer-camp circuit of 2014, Elite 11 coach Trent Dilfer butted heads with Rosen after the prodigy took liberties with the playbook. Dilfer made public comments that Rosen needed to "buy into what I'm preaching." (He now predicts that Rosen's adjustment to UCLA's new offense will be telling. "Everyone is depending on him buying into something bigger than himself," Dilfer says. "If he decides to do it, he'll win the Heisman and the Pac‑12 and be the first pick in the draft. He's that talented."

Despite the negative talk, Rosen remained in demand, and he surprised many by choosing the Bruins. "Even as a USC fan growing up, I liked UCLA a lot because I saw potential in the program," Rosen says, "and I really wanted to just mess with everyone."

Robert Beck/SI

Josh Rosen exits Dodd Hall, and he strolls past the eucalyptus trees on the sun-splashed main quad. He stops in front of stately Royce Hall and points out the brick building's 52 asymmetries. They were included because the builders felt "only God can make something perfect."

Rosen is thrilled that his college imperfections are playing out at UCLA; he has a genuine affinity for the school and program. But he admits he picked it for all the wrong reasons. Besides the chance to "mess" with people, he liked the opportunity to start early, the free gear—hats and shirts, etc.—and the L.A. social scene. He now appreciates the networking opportunities and the ability to retain some semblance of anonymity in a town full of A-listers. "In retrospect, being Jewish is a big reason why I should have considered UCLA," he says. "Just because of how Jewish Hollywood is, and they really want someone to look up to because they just don't have professional athletes."

Rosen also has a unique relationship with his coach. The Moras live two blocks from the Rosens, close enough that Mora walked to the in-home visit. The families have become close because of Rosen's friendship with Mora's daughter, Lillia, a USC junior.

On Christmas Eve two years ago Rosen fell asleep on Mora's couch. Last Christmas the Moras hosted the Rosens. The day after UCLA lost to rival USC 40–21 to close the regular season, Rosen showed up at Mora's house. They watched an NFL game together, mostly in silence. Mora took that as a sweet gesture, a player stopping by to pick up his coach. "He's a challenge," Mora says of Rosen. "But he's a fun challenge, a great challenge and an interesting challenge."

Rosen's own set of challenges? He wants to lead UCLA to a conference title and eventually become a Super Bowl–winning, All-Pro quarterback who can make enough money off the field to play for the league minimum so his team can spend its salary cap space on his teammates. After football, he wants to work in venture capital and model his post-football life after the business success of former Bruins quarterback Troy Aikman, who has owned multiple businesses and dabbles in real estate.

For now, though, Rosen just wants to be a college student. So with class finished, he heads back to his fratty apartment. There, he'll balance studying for his Comm 157 midterm with providing a case study for the course's future students.

 

[LesBaker]

For comparison, I think Sam Darnold

I know someone who follows college football very, very closely and in his opinion that will be the worst of the group this year and he doesn't feel he will "make it".

Since the Rams weren't drafting a QB I didn't bother watching highlights of the guys coming out so I have no opinion.