Top QBs Darnold, Rosen enter draft

LOS ANGELES» Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold will skip his final two seasons of eligibility and UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen will skip his season season to enter the NFL draft.

The two made their announcements about about 25 minutes apart.

Rosen made his expected announcement first with a post on Twitter. He is expected to be a high first-round pick in April.

After arriving in Westwood as the top quarterback recruit in the nation, Rosen was the Bruins’ starter for the past three seasons.

He passed for 9,301 yards with 59 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

“Over the last three years, UCLA has helped me grow as an athlete, a scholar and a member of the community,” Rosen added. “I have made some mistakes along the way; however, I am grateful that I made those mistakes backed by such a supportive and positive university, so that I could learn from them and better myself.”

Darnold made the expected announcement in an Instagram video.

“I’ve been blessed that my life has been full of memorable moments and wonderful people,” Darnold said.

Darnold took over as the Trojans’ starting quarterback four games into last season as a redshirt freshman and immediately became one of the game’s most exciting players.

He won nine consecutive games as a starter last season, including a thrilling 52-49 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State with a record 453-yard, fivetouchdown performance.

Darnold passed for 7,229 yards with 57 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions, going 20-4 as a starter.

Darnold and Rosen grew up on opposite sides of the Los Angeles area’s sprawling suburbs, and now they’ll be linked as top quarterback prospects in the same draft.