UCLA Football: Josh Rosen having to avoid hits on and off the field

Even though the UCLA Football regular season has ended and the team is preparing for the Cactus Bowl, the Bruins’ starting QB isn’t just preparing to take on blitzers in the bowl game. He’s also dealing with would-be tacklers on social media.

There’s a strong chance that UCLA Football QB Josh Rosen will be declaring for the NFL Draft after the Cactus Bowl. While he does have one year of eligibility remaining, you’d be hard pressed to find a reason for him to stay as it pertains to football. He really has nothing left to prove to the NFL or to college football fans and has done wonders with a less than stellar supporting cast.

If and when he does, he’ll be subjected to  the draft evaluation process that’s made up of numerous components. You might knock a guy if he doesn’t have the physical measurements you covet at a certain position, if his film shows some glaring weakness or if he’s had off field issues.

Related Story: UCLA Football: Josh Rosen refutes claim that he is leaving UCLA for the NFL Draft

One unfortunate part of the process that has picked up steam in recent years due to protection social media affords is the use of anonymous sources as facts.

That issue seems to be especially prevalent in Rosen’s case.

While Rosen has never had any run-ins with the law during his time as UCLA Football QB he has stirred up plenty of controversy. From hot tubs to golf courses and challenging the NCAA, Rosen isn’t afraid to let his thoughts be known to the public. As a junior, Rosen has done a much better job of keeping the controversial comments and actions to a minimum and in fact the only thing that anyone could point to were his off-season comments regarding his feelings on football and school.

However plenty of Twitter scouts have reported from unnamed sources that “Rosen is not liked by teammates” and “doesn’t take to coaching”. Of course these scouts then refuse to name sources hiding behind phrases like “it’s a very reliable source” or “it’s a source I trust”. What’s very interesting is a heavy dose of UCLA Football players have come out and publicly stated on their Twitter timelines that they love Rosen and that he’s a good teammate.

https://twitter.com/W4DOOD_/status/938122909096189953

https://twitter.com/Vanderdoes94/status/938137321408311296

Stuff like this has gone on before social media and will go on no matter the medium we use to discuss the NFL draft. There will always be rumblings about players. That much is true and is part of the process.

What isn’t okay though is acting like those anonymous quotes from “sources” are facts. And even worse? When those “facts” turn out to be wrong and instead of taking responsibility for spreading unconfirmed information they deflect and say “it’s from a reliable source”.

You can’t put out information that potentially hurts a player’s draft stock by chalking it up to “reliable sources” and then when the information fails to hold water refuse to be held accountable.

We’ve also seen many questioning Rosen’s toughness. If you’re doing that and reading this let me tell you something. You have no idea what you’re talking about.

Here’s Rosen’s injury history in a nutshell. He was lost halfway through 2016 with shoulder injury. He then proceeded to throw for almost 4,000 yards in 12 games in 2017. The shoulder is good to go.

Then he was knocked out of the UCLA Football versus Washington game with a concussion and missed the following game at Utah because of it. In this day and age if you’re questioning a player’s toughness because of a concussion I have serious concerns about your mental health.

Finally Rosen was held out of the second half of the game against Cal because he sustained a very similar hit to the one that concussed him against Washington. Wasn’t his call to make and it was clear the coaching staff wanted to protect him. You can actually see how irate his on the sideline. None of that should result in questions about his toughness.

The most damning argument against those calling Rosen soft or fragile is the fact that countless times Rosen stood in the face of pressure and delivered an absolute dime of a throw right before being crushed. You don’t pull yourself off the turf 15 or more times a game if you’re not tough and don’t love football. You don’t continue to play with blood running down your face if you’re not tough. You don’t survive three offensive coordinators, a very limited run game and a porous run defense to lead your team to a bowl game if you’re not tough.

There will always be “sources” in media that won’t be named. It’s part of storytelling and investigative journalism. I have no issue with “sources”. You have to collect as much information as you can to put together a story with as much accuracy as possible. And there are always going to be “sources” that neither you nor the “source” want revealed. For the “source” if they were revealed they could face termination or worse. The writer could lose a valuable contact that helped them gain a following or even a career.

What I have an issue with is the declaration of these “sources” as fact and the digging in of heels by these scouts despite numerous reports contradicting them or even, in the case of Rosen, the player himself disputing the “source”. That’s right. On his personal Twitter, Rosen was forced to defend himself against “scouts” who claimed Rosen had made up his mind. When Rosen responded in a statement not directed at anyone in particular, a “scout” took offense and told Rosen “he could prove him wrong by going back” with the stake being “my paycheck vs. your week1 check in the NFL or your $0 check from UCLA in week 1”. This guy not only bet Rosen that he was wrong but backed it by saying he wrote the story about it. Can we all agree that’s flat out stupid?

Trying to goad a young man into a decision that will shape the rest of his life just so that you can beat your chest isn’t just pathetic, it’s idiotic and shows a great lack of not only professionalism but also maturity. Rosen may leave the UCLA Football team for the NFL this year but it won’t because that “scout” reported it. And when the time comes for the announcement it should come from Rosen, not from someone who may have talked to someone on the outgoing staff. Hell I’m not even sure their source is that close to the team.

Next: UCLA Basketball: The force is not strong with the Bruins in OT loss to Michigan

In a world of social media, internet scouts have turned what should be a careful process of gathering information, having it confirmed as much as possible which includes confirmation by the player, into a race. A race to be first. A race to claim bragging rights. It doesn’t matter to them if they report incorrect information because they’re not going to take the blame for being wrong. But if that’s the case then what are we really racing towards? A world where a young man’s reputation can be tainted before he walks in the door or even declares for the NFL Draft isn’t one we should aspire to live in.