College athletes have ridiculous schedules between commitments to their sport and their education, and at least one Heisman Trophy hopeful doesn’t believe the setup is fair to student-athletes.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is projected by many experts to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he believes many student-athletes aren’t given the proper educational guidance when it comes to picking between their NFL dreams and life after football.
In an in-depth interview with Bleacher Report, Rosen gave thoughtful analysis on the life of a student-athlete, and then, probably without realizing it, he took a little jab at the Alabama Crimson Tide.
“Look, football and school don’t go together,” Rosen told Bleacher Report. “They just don’t. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way. Then there’s the other side that says raise the SAT eligibility requirements. OK, raise the SAT requirement at Alabama and see what kind of team they have. You lose athletes and then the product on the field suffers.”
Rosen, who majors in economics and plans to get his MBA, certainly has a point about the hypocrisy of major college athletics. It’s impossible for adults to devote their day to two-full-time commitments, and it’s even more a stretch to ask that of 18-year-old kids.
And Rosen believes the universities, who make a lot of money off of college football, should do more to help the players in the classroom, and not just find ways to keep them on the field.
“Any time any player puts into school will take away from the time they could put into football,” Rosen said. “They don’t realize that they’re getting screwed until it’s too late. You have a bunch of people at the universities who are supposed to help you out, and they’re more interested in helping you stay eligible. At some point, universities have to do more to prepare players for university life and help them succeed beyond football. ”
The junior star told Bleacher Report he wants to play as long as he can in the NFL, but also wants to be able to make a life for himself outside of the game.
Perhaps Rosen can fix college football when he’s done carving up NFL defenses.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
