UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen isn’t interested in skipping out on a bowl game like other high-profile players have recently if his Bruins qualify in 2017.
Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey both opted to prepare for the 2017 NFL Draft last year, rather than risk injury in a game that would not have any bearing on their future as NFL players.
Penn State running back Saquon Barkley has said he’s not ruling out taking the same approach. And now that Penn State is no longer in the running for the College Football Playoff, we suspect he’ll be even more inclined to follow Fournette and McCaffrey’s lead.
However, Rosen is taking a different approach. He’s not concerned about injuries so much as the “fun” that playing in a bowl game presents.
“I mean, bowl games are just fun,” Rosen said, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. “I like going out there with the guys and you’re in another city for a week and you have a good time.”
Obviously the decisions of Fournette and McCaffrey did nothing to deter teams from investing draft capital in them. They ended up going No. 4 and No. 8 in last year’s draft.
That said, Rosen’s comments here have to excite the heck out of any teams interested in potentially drafting him. Playing for the love of the game is a trait you cannot coach or teach. It’s something players either have in their bones or they don’t.
Though the past two years have been rough from a health standpoint as far as Rosen is concerned, he’s still viewed as one of the top passers in the upcoming draft, should he choose to declare. One of the most naturally gifted passers this scribe has seen in a while, he routinely makes NFL-level throws, even under the most intense pressure you could imagine (like this).
Hopefully for his sake, Rosen will finish the season with good health, gets to play in a bowl game and then gets to continue playing football to his heart’s content at the next level for years to come.