From the moment UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen arrived on campus, he seemed destined for a three-year plan. The former blue-chip recruit started as a freshman and threw for a nice 3,669 yards and 23 touchdowns vs. 11 picks. And though his follow-up effort was cut short due to a shoulder injury, he still enters the 2017 season as one of college football's top quarterbacks. Add in his critiques about the college athletics system in general and it's almost a foregone conclusion that Rosen will leave early.
His coach, Jim Mora, disagrees.
"My firm belief is that he will not leave," Mora told Yahoo Sports. "I don't think he'll leave."
"I want a disclaimer, I have an option to change my opinion," Mora continued. "But as we sit here right now, I can really honestly say I don't think he's going to leave."
That's a magnificent hedge and perhaps a little wishful thinking. Of course, no one knows for sure what Rosen will do when deadline comes for early draft declarations, but here's some context for consideration:
In a Bleacher Report interview published earlier this month, Rosen went on the record saying football and school "don't go together." A year ago, in an interview with CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, Rosen referred to being a student-athlete as "indentured servitude." He was outspoken against UCLA's $280 million shoe and apparel deal with Under Armour.
Rosen has been labeled by critics as whiny. While there's no denying his pure talent, his 11-8 record as a starter, which can inaccurately be pinned on him and him alone, provides ammunition for those who want him to shut up and play. In the same Yahoo piece, former Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, who is an analyst for Pac-12 Network, said Rosen is "a little bit spoiled, and I think he's actually hurt that team more than helped that team in his first two years there. I think they've catered to him."
Sure, Rosen needs to improve. So does every player. Barring a dramatic change, these are narratives that will stay with Rosen throughout draft season, whenever that may be for him. Anonymous scouting articles won't be kind. And, yet, few college athletes have pushed the discussion of the imbalance in college athletics forward as candidly as he has. Rosen is opinionated and that's going to draw a lot of blowback.
Mora cited Rosen's injury, working with a new offensive coordinator (Jedd Fisch) and "the UCLA experience" as reasons for Rosen's possible return. But for someone who apparently loves his college experience, Rosen has never seemed particularly keen on the student-athlete experience under the NCAA's umbrella.