UCLA football had some great news this week as St. John Bosco High School commit, Josh Rosen, will be joining UCLA for the winter quarter. With him graduating high school early, Rosen will have eight months of preparation before the 2015 season begins. Rosen is a five-star prospect that is rated the #1 QB in the country and the #2 athlete overall in his class. He has a lot of potential, but at the same time, he has a lot of guys in front of him at UCLA. So how will this all shake out for the leaders of the Bruin offense? We will show you as we break down the quarterback depth chart for the next several years.
First off, let us check out the scholarship availability and the years remaining for the scholarship quarterbacks on the UCLA football team. Jake Hall and Mike Fafaul have been omitted due to the unlikeliness of them starting for the Bruins due to the number of QBs in front of them.
What would be great is if for some reason reason, Brett Hundley comes back for his senior year, you know, for business that is not finished (I am not writing that other phrase). But in reality, Hundley will probably head to the NFL after this season, especially with him graduating. But what that leaves are four quarterbacks that have a lot of positives going for them. But really, UCLA has a logjam, especially with Rosen coming in three months.
With all that in mind, here is what might be the most likely structure of the QB depth chart in the next couple of years.
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It is a sad truth, but someone will be left out. As highly-touted as Rosen is, it is hard to not see him playing early in his career at UCLA. That is not even considering if he redshirts or not, but with the extra time to learn the UCLA offense before the 2015 season, Rosen could have a lot going for him. That puts Jerry Neuheisel, Aaron Sharp and Asiantii Woulard in a particular position. Would they want to stay at UCLA if things were sorted in this way or maybe seek playing time somewhere else? Now remember, this is only one scenario.
What if it turns out that Neieheisel, Woulard or Sharp excel in the next few years, keeping Rosen at the bottom of the depth chart. How will that affect Rosen’s plans for playing college football?
This is speculation, but it is something to consider, especially for the coaching staff. It is a problem, but a good problem to have none the less. At least if two starting QBs go down, UCLA will have a reliable back-up back-up. Remember McLeod Bethel-Thompson?
Interesting.