UCLA had one of the most hyped quarterbacks in college football entering the 2016 season. Putting up nearly 3,700 yards and 23 touchdowns as a freshman will have that effect on people.
However, Josh Rosen’s brash style and demeanor also put a target on his back entering his sophomore season.
Now, word is that a shoulder injury that had kept Rosen on the sidelines the last few weeks is going to require surgery ending his season. He is scheduled to have an MRI on his shoulder on Thursday to determine the extent of damage and the surgery needed.
That said, Rosen has a couple years left at UCLA, and the Bruins have games to win or a head coach to fire.
It is safe to say in the 24-hour news cycle we live in, even in sports, Rosen’s out-of-sight surgery is going to have a major impact on his future and the future of the UCLA program as a whole.
For him personally, it is likely to be months of rehab and reconditioning his arm. It is also likely six months before he even thinks about throwing a football again. There’s also risk of losing the velocity or ability to throw the deep ball too.
There are a lot of unknowns that won’t be answered immediately for Rosen, and it could all impact a career that seemed destined for the NFL sooner rather than later.
As for the team? Things haven’t exactly been sunshine and roses with Rosen out. The Bruins sit at 3-5 on the season, one in which they were expected to roll through the Pac-12 South and become a national-title contender of sorts.
UCLA takes on Colorado, a team that has surprised a lot of outsiders with its competitiveness and sits atop the Pac-12 South standings at 4-1 in conference and 6-2 overall on the season, this weekend.
Things won’t get any easier for this team with the likes of USC and Cal still on the schedule either. Getting to six wins appears to be a pretty tall task, and that’s especially the case without Rosen behind center.
In his absence, senior Mike Fafaul has put up some gaudy numbers (255.3 yards per game), including a 464-yard and five-touchdown day against Utah two weeks ago. However, he also tossed four interceptions, and the Bruins lost that game.
On the season, Fafaul has thrown as many touchdowns (8) as interceptions, and UCLA’s offense can’t afford those kind of numbers in order to be successful.
Rosen, like his personality or not, is a key cog in UCLA’s success or failure on the football field. This team needs him back, and depending on the severity of his shoulder injury, hopefully that can be fairly soon.
