Darnold, Rosen declare for draft

Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold will skip his final two seasons of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

Darnold made the expected announcement in an Instagram video Wednesday.

About 25 minutes earlier, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen announced he will enter the draft. Both local products are expected to be high firstround selections in April.

Darnold took over as the Trojans’ starting quarterback four games into last season as a redshirt freshman. He won the Rose Bowl in his first season with a record 453yard, five-touchdown performance against Penn State, and he led the Trojans to their first Pac-12 championship since 2008 this season.

Darnold passed for 7,229 yards with 57 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions in 27 games behind center for the Trojans.

Rosen has been the Bruins’ starting quarterback for the past three seasons, playing in 30 total games after missing half of his sophomore year with injuries. He passed for 9,301 yards with 59 touchdown passes and 26 interceptions.

He was close to fired UCLA coach Jim Mora, but discussed his decision with newBruinscoachChipKelly.

In his statement, Rosen says that attending UCLA was “the best decision of my life.” He also promises his mother that he’ll return to Westwood to finish his degree. to ESPN Radio on Wednesday to discuss his pursuit of the Raiders job that opened when Jack Del Rio was fired after a disappointing six-win season.

“It’s been a long couple of weeks,” Gruden said. “I know they’ve gone through their process of interviewing candidates and until they’re done I won’t know. I did have a good meeting with Mark. I’ve known him a long time and got a lot of respect for the Raiders football organization.”

Gruden has been out of coaching the past nine years while serving as ESPN’s analyst for “Monday Night Football.” He is scheduled to work the network’s playoff game Saturday in Kansas City between the Chiefs and Tennessee Titans and could come back to the Raiders as soon as next week.

“I think there’s a good chance,” he said. “I’m excited about where I’m at in terms of studying the game and preparing to come back and coach. I just don’t want to sit here and speculate.”

Gruden apparently is already trying to put together a staff. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he expected defensive coordinator Paul Guenther to interview with Oakland “at some point.”

Gruden spent four seasons as coach in Oakland from 1998-2001. After leading the Raiders to 8-8 records his first two years, Gruden helped the team reach the AFC title game following the 2000 season and got Oakland back into the playoffsthefollowingseason.

His tenure ended shortly after the “Tuck Rule” loss to the New England Patriots when he was traded the following month to Tampa Bay for two first-round draft picks, two secondrounders and $8 million.

Gruden beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers but didn’t win another playoff game for Tampa Bay in his final six seasons. He has a 95-81 career record.