Just How Entitled is UCLA QB Josh Rosen?
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen keeps making headlines for his outspokenness. Is this a sign of trouble?
The college football season is finally around the corner, and UCLA Football continues to make headlines.
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This time, however, it is QB Josh Rosen who is stealing all the attention from the rest of the team as NFL scouts voiced concerns about the sophomore. Specifically, sources reported the young quarterback needed to drop his sense of “entitlement” before earning a spot in the NFL.
Just how entitled is Josh Rosen?
Last season, true freshman Rosen posted a picture online of a hot tub in his dorm room, which spread like a virus on social media. Then earlier this year, he posted yet another picture online, this time of himself playing golf and sporting a “F*ck Trump” hat, while allegedly playing at one of Trump’s golf courses.
Just a little over a month after his golfing escapades, Rosen was again making headlines. This time, the sophomore made comments about the multi-million dollar deal between UCLA and Under Armour, questioning the NCAA amateur rules.
As a result of these incidents, there have been comparisons between Rosen and out-of-work QB Johnny Manziel. UCLA Football Coach Jim Mora himself warned in an interview that Rosen should worry whether he wants to be more like Manziel or New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (not that many would think Brady is a better role model).
But these comparisons and the concerns expressed by NFL scouts are heavily misplaced on the industry’s long misunderstanding of a student athlete’s place.
Josh Rosen is a quarterback, but more accurately, he is a UCLA quarterback. This means he’s a student athlete—and there’s a reason why “student” goes before “athlete” in there. Rosen is presently in a learning environment where he is constantly being challenged to think about the world and to then think some more.
On the field, Rosen is expected to be a leader. Although his position is as important as any other, every offensive play depends on his skills and decision-making. If the offense can’t score, it makes it harder for the team to win. Every Bruin from the Rick Neuheisel Era knows that.
Rosen has two roles that, at times, seem to conflict. He is constantly being asked to think about his place in the world and how to solve society’s big problems, while others expect him to put his head down and simply go through the motions quietly. But what kind of leader would Josh Rosen be if he took everything given to him at face value?
Hold your answer for a bit.
Josh Rosen isn’t Johnny Manziel—not now, not ever. Johnny Football was a party boy who would show up late to practice, if he showed at all. He got into fights and was accused of domestic violence. Despite staring at his inevitable demise, Manziel struggled to make changes. He didn’t think he needed to change because he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong.
Rosen isn’t a party boy. He parties, sure, but not to the point of controversy or misconduct. Instead, he’s a UCLA student-athlete who will speak his mind if he thinks it can get a conversation started in the right direction. He’s also a leader who’s not afraid to check in with his teammates to make sure they are being taken care of.
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Josh Rosen is far from entitled. He’s a smart young man who understands that there’s more to his role than throwing touchdowns. He never thought he deserved the starting spot at UCLA. He earned it. When he has made mistakes on the field, he stayed collected and worked hard to improve himself.
If Rosen took everything given to him at face value, he simply wouldn’t be the right leader for UCLA. We can’t ask him to simultaneously be the thinker of tomorrow and yet to keep quiet about what’s going through his mind.
If Rosen’s personality starts affecting his game or how his teammates see him, perhaps then the NFL should be concerned. But to worry about a teenager trying to find his place in the world, that is incredibly premature.
To say Josh Rosen is “entitled” is to imply that the QB hasn’t worked hard to earn his place on the team. If you can be the future of football without putting in the hard work, don’t you think everyone would be doing it?
But Josh Rosen isn’t everyone, and he didn’t coast his way to Westwood. Instead, he worked hard to be UCLA’s starting quarterback, and he’s a damn good one at that.
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Stay quirky, Josh Rosen.