Josh Rosen ponders Alabama's success if SAT requirement raised, says 'football and school don't go together'
— -- UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen discussed the academic challenges involved with being a college football player in a wide-ranging interview with Bleacher Report, saying "football and school don't go together" and suggesting that Alabama would not be as successful if the Crimson Tide were to raise the SAT requirement.
Rosen, who has been outspoken on the issue of amateurism in college sports, told Bleacher Report that "human beings don't belong in school with our schedules."
When asked about the inherent conflict of being a college student and a football player, Rosen referred to Alabama, which won four of the past eight national championships.
"Look, football and school don't go together," Rosen said. "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, an economics major who is entering his junior season at UCLA, focused on the lucrative business of college football, saying "there's so much money being made in this sport."
"No one in their right mind should have a football player's schedule and go to school," he said. "It's not that some players shouldn't be in school; it's just that universities should help them more -- instead of just finding ways to keep them eligible.
"Any time any player puts into school will take away from the time they could put into football. 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. ... There's so much money being made in this sport. It's a crime to not do everything you can to help the people who are making it for those who are spending it."
Rosen's first two seasons with the Bruins have been defined as much by his proclivity for creating headlines away from the field as what he did while throwing for 5,585 yards and 33 touchdowns. There was the viral photo showing a hot tub he brought into his dorm room, and another disparaging then-presidential candidate Donald Trump while playing golf.
When UCLA announced its 15-year, $280 million deal with Under Armour, Rosen used the big contract to mock the NCAA's nonprofit status on social media, saying "We're still amateurs though ... Gotta love non-profits #NCAA" in an Instagram post.
Rosen was a highly touted recruit when he chose UCLA and is considered a top prospect for the 2018 NFL draft. He recently was rated as the No. 7 overall draft prospect by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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