Sam Darnold- The Next Andrew Luck?
Over the last few decades, USC football has gone through many stages of ups and downs from national titles and star players to a team with a lack of direction and no stabilization at head coach. Regardless of their success though the USC Trojans are one of college football’s most beloved programs and may be back on top thanks to Rose Bowl sensation, QB Sam Darnold. In 2012, USC landed 4 star QB Max Browne in hopes that the 6-5 gunslinger could bring some success back to the program since the departures of Matt Barkley and Mark Sanchez.
As the 2016 college football season began, it was Browne’s chance to shine as USC’s starting QB but after starting only 3 games, Browne’s career with USC was finished. USC had a changing of the guards at QB and this time, Darnold was at the helm and needless to say, the team did not look back from that point on in the season. Leading up to the Rose Bowl, Darnold turned USC into a powerhouse and helped the team rise in the standings eventually finishing the season ranked #9 in the nation.
Heading into the Rose Bowl, USC was facing #5 Penn State and while the Nittany Lions were coming off a big performance in the Big Ten Championship, all eyes were on the USC QB. When the 4th quarter started, Penn State had the game all but locked up except they forgot about Darnold and the USC offense. USC rallied around their young QB by scoring 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter in one of the most memorable Rose Bowl games in recent memory. Darnold finished the game completing 62% of his passes for over 450 yards and 5 touchdowns but the biggest takeaway from his incredible performance was his composure and maturity throughout the game. During a crucial point near the end of the game, Darnold threw a touchdown pass to one of his receivers and instead of gloating and celebrating, he simply ran off the field like a 10 year veteran who made that type of pass dozens of times before. The Rose Bowl game was more than just a statement about USC football; it was a statement about Sam Darnold.
Since USC’s victory in the Rose Bowl, all eyes have turned to Darnold and the immense expectations for the QB this season. While many view USC as a potential contender for the National Championship, many also view Darnold as a potential top 5 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Now I know that is almost a year away, but once one draft ends, draft talk for next year starts right back up and the QB discussion is certainly of interest this season. Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Darnold as viewed as the top 3 QB’s and considered top 5 picks, but while the Darnold hype is real, we may have to wait more than a year to see him play in the NFL. Recent speculation is that Darnold may stay in college beyond this season and enter the draft in 2019 rather than 2018 which could have a big impact in both college and the pros.
Let me first start off by saying I am a big Sam Darnold fan and think he could be the best QB USC has had in a long time (may be since Matt Leinart). USC is a historic program and it’s nice to see them back in relevancy much like Penn State this year with Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley. Not only would Darnold give USC stability at the QB position but he could help USC contend for the National Championship against top programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Let me also say that this scenario seems very similar to Andrew Luck back in 2011-2012 when he chose to stay at Stanford rather than enter the 2011 Draft. Not only would this narrow the QB debate for the 2018 draft down to Allen and Rosen but this would also create more discussion for the 2019 draft considering the QB class may not be as strong (top projected QB- Georgia’s Jacob Eason).
Now let’s look at the other side of this discussion and talk about the one potential drawback to Darnold staying in college beyond this season. As a matter of fact, why not stay close to home and look at a former USC QB who chose to say in college rather than enter the NFL Draft, Matt Barkley. I can remember Matt Barkley projected as a top 5 pick and the first QB draft but instead of entering the draft Barkley chose to stay at USC. The following year, Barkley had an up and down season and ended up falling out of the first 2 rounds in the NFL Draft. So with that being said, let’s play the “what if” game to examine the possible scenarios:
Scenario 1: The next few years of Darnold’s college/pro career resemble Andrew Luck’s career- plays well in 2017, stays for a another year, plays well again and is drafted #1 overall in 2019 NFL Draft.
Scenario 2: The next few years of Darnold’s college/pro career resemble Matt Barkley’s career- plays well in 2017, stays for a another year, does not live up to expectations and is drafted outside the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Both of these scenarios are possible and while I hope to see Darnold in the NFL sooner rather than later, the only way he should enter the 2018 NFL Draft is if he has a Heisman Trophy type 2017 season. If his develop is complete and he has all the tools to play at the next level than he should enter the draft no questions asked. While I am a big believer in education, a college degree can be achieved at any time but you can only achieve your NFL dreams once (being drafted #1 overall). Now if Darnold does not live up to expectations this season, than I am all for Darnold returning to USC for another year of development as long as the program around him is complementary to his development. This to me is a big reason why I believe Jets QB Christian Hackenberg’s career has not panned out like many hoped it would a few season ago.
Whatever Sam Darnold chooses to do in the next year, he will certainly be one of the biggest talking points in college football and it will be interesting to see his growth and development with the USC program. Is Sam Darnold the next Andrew Luck? Maybe. Only time will tell.