UCLA football star Josh Rosen will reportedly be sitting out his team’s season finale against Kansas State on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
But Rosen won’t be skipping the game because it is his decision. Instead, according to multiple reports that surfaced on Saturday, the star signal-caller will miss the game due to doctor’s orders after suffering his second concussion of the year in the team’s regular season finale.
When meeting with the media over the weekend ahead of the Cactus Bowl, Rosen was asked about the growing “trend” of top players choosing to skip their team’s bowl games in order to focus on preparing for NFL Draft.
That’s when Rosen gave a brilliant response and added some perspective on why players ultimately decide to focus on their futures rather than one final collegiate game.
You can check out Rosen’s response below via WIBW-TV’s Chris Lilly, along with a transcript of his answer from USA TODAY’s For The Win:
Today UCLA QB Josh Rosen said he would look at the NFL after the bowl game and when asked about what makes him want to play in the @Cactus_Bowl when other high profile players have skipped bowl games… he had this great answer. #UCLA #CactusBowl pic.twitter.com/fArs2leCix
— Chris Lilly (@wibwChrisLilly) December 24, 2017
“I think it’s fair with the Christian McCaffreys and the Leonard Fournettes, maybe with Derwin (James), and some guys because they play really physical positions. For them it’s not an issue of if they’re getting hurt, it’s an issue of how severe because most of those guys get banged up to some extent every single game. Quarterback’s unique. We’ll take a few licks here and there, but nothing like the beating those guys take.
“A lot of people bash them, but some of them have to realize that some of these guys have families. Some of these guys have kids, some of these guys really have to support the people around them. Some of them may be put in unfortunate circumstances where they can’t afford to be in school another year.
“They might want to and people in the media might not give them that shot that there’s part of them that may want to be in college. They may want to play in this bowl game, but if they feel like they’ve locked in their future and need to take care of their kid or families, sisters, brothers, whatever, then I think people should really look into their story and see how football is affecting their life.
“I’m in a fortunate circumstance where I play a not as physical position, and it’s just every single situation is unique. I don’t think you can lump them all together. I don’t think you can call it a trend that people are starting to miss bowl games. I think players are just realizing they have a lot of power, and they don’t need to be exploited when it’s to their detriment.
“I think people just need to look into more of each of these people’s stories and understand the entirety of the situation and not just kinda lump them all together as the selfish college football player that just wants to make money.”
It’s a shame more people can’t look at the players’ decisions with this kind of perspective.
Kickoff between the two teams at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona is set for 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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