USC QB Sam Darnold
Just minutes after UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen announced he was declaring for the 2018 NFL Draft, his USC counterpart Sam Darnold said he too would enter the draft.
Darnold will thus be forgoing his last two years of eligibility with the Trojans. Watch his video announcement on Instagram here:
Darnold’s announcement reportedly came 25 minutes after Rosen’s.
In 2016, Darnold had an amazing freshman season in which he completed 67.2 percent of his throws for 3,086 yards with 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 250 yards and two scores on the ground.
The 20-year-old California native then recorded 4,143 passing yards, 26 TD tosses and 13 picks across 14 games in 2017. He also had 11 fumbles, which drew criticism about his ability to maintain a solid grip on the ball despite his evidently strong passing prowess.
“His delivery still needs to be cleaned up, but his accuracy is phenomenal,” ESPN’s Todd McShay wrote in November. “He is the most complete quarterback in college football and a potential franchise signal-caller, if he decides to enter the draft.”
In an interview on SportsCenter in July, Darnold said his future was still up in the air, per Max Meyer of NFL.com.
“I don’t think any team should tank their season because of me,” Darnold said. “I’m just taking this every day, one day at a time and that’s all I can do.”
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