It’s July 2014, and 19 of the best high school quarterbacks in America are in Beaverton, Ore., for the Elite 11 Finals. One of them, Josh Rosen, is easy to spot. At 6-foot-4, “Chosen Rosen” is confident bordering on cocky and blessed with an arm that spins what experts describe as a “beautiful ball.” Another, Sam Darnold, is easy to miss. He belongs, yes, but nobody quite knows how. He’d started just two games as a junior quarterback before an injury ended his season, and few knew what to make of the stout, 6-foot-4 linebacker out of pads. Mostly, he kept to himself.

Darnold considered 7on7 camps to be “fake football.” He participated mostly because he had to play the recruiting game. He’d fly home to practice with his high school team immediately after the event. Later, Darnold would have to be convinced to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl over a high school basketball tournament.

Rosen was the event in some ways. Already committed to UCLA, Rosen flashed everything that made him a generational prospect. But even then, his outspoken personality grated against some. Rosen questioned the playbook on more than one occasion and Elite 11 head coach Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl champion, called him out for needing to “buy into” coaching.

“Side by side, there was just one of them who did what we asked him to do,” said Elite 11 Director of Scouting Joey Roberts, “and one who wanted to know the why before he did what we asked him.”

Ultimately, Rosen made the Elite 11. Darnold did not.

Now, one is the quarterback at USC (Darnold) and the other at UCLA (Rosen). Despite both growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles and standing on opposite sidelines in each of the past two iterations of the crosstown rivalry, a redshirt (Darnold) and an injury (Rosen) have prevented them from taking the field against each other.

That will likely change soon. USC and UCLA are set to meet Nov. 18 at the Coliseum. The Trojans hope to return to national title contention. The Bruins will attempt to live up to the initial hope promised by the Rosen era. Later, Rosen and Darnold will likely meet on the NFL Draft stage. Both could contend to be the No. 1 overall pick.

One, Darnold, is simple to understand. The other, Rosen, is not.

It’s been that way for a long time, even if the contrast wasn’t always clear. Rosen began his college career as the ideal, whereas Darnold the unknown. Four years later, questions trail Rosen, and Darnold is the model quarterback.

But, in many ways, these two dueling stories can be whittled down to who they were at Elite 11.

***

Rosen and Darnold grew up 63 miles apart: Rosen in Manhattan Beach, Calif., – a well-to-do Los Angeles suburb along the coast – and Darnold in San Clemente – a beach town just outside of the bustle of the big city. Close, but far away, their careers were then a similar distance apart following Elite 11. Darnold’s coaches were sending out his basketball tape to get football coaches to take a look. Rosen could’ve picked almost any school in the country.

Genetics seemed to preordain that Darnold and Rosen would be athletes.

Darnold’s dad, Mike, played football in college. His mom, Chris, played volleyball. His sister, Franki, played volleyball at Rhode Island. One grandfather, Mike Sr., was the college center for Washington Redskins great Brig Owns. The other, Dick Hammer, played basketball at USC. Darnold’s parents met while working out and found their first home on a bike ride.

Rosen’s parents, Charles Rosen and Liz Lippincott, were both competitive ice dancers. Rosen’s sister, Beatrice, was a two-time All-American tennis player at Emory.

Mike Darnold originally bought his ’95 Dodge to tow a boat. Two-hundred-and-sixty-thousand miles later, and it seemed to only tow his kids to sporting events. Most meals came at 9 or 10 p.m. at In-N-Out.

“That’s the only way they could eat,” said Mike Darnold Sr. “They were on the run with sports 24/7.”

Rosen’s youth was no less active. A nationally ranked tennis player, Rosen flew from tournament to tournament across the country. Charles, a spine surgeon, and Liz, an editor and descendant of the Wharton family, were able to fund those efforts.

Football fever would come late for both. But Sam experienced his first longing at age eight, on a soccer field, of all places. Sam’s eyes strayed to a nearby field where Travis Wilson’s Pop Warner team practiced. Wilson, a future Utah QB and Los Angeles Ram, was friends with Franki. Sam looked up to Travis, always the best athlete in town, and made a declaration to his dad: “I don’t want to do this. I want to do that.”

Mike hoped to put football off because of the required time commitment and cost, but Darnold wanted to be like Wilson. So much so that Darnold would attend Wilson’s Pop Warner practices. Later, he’d go to San Clemente High School games with dad and grandpa on Friday nights.

“That was his motivation really,” Mike Darnold said. “They were playing football, and that’s what he wanted to do.”

Rosen’s transition came later. A shoulder injury paused his tennis career for a time, creating an opportunity for his eye to wander toward football. Already wiry strong in junior high, Rosen moonlighted as a defensive end but focused on quarterback. St. John Bosco offensive coordinator Chad Johnson saw Rosen for the first time on a highlight tape Rosen submitted. The pocket broke down and Rosen launched the ball 40 yards off his back foot over the middle. It’s a throw that still gets Rosen in trouble, but it served as a “wow” moment for an eighth grader.

When Johnson heard Rosen would sign with Bosco (a private school), then Oregon State assistant Brent Brennan – now San Jose State’s HC – was in the office. Johnson told Brennan: “This kid will be the No. 1 quarterback in the country.” Brennan didn’t believe him.

Brennan still jokes with Johnson about that doubt.

***

It’s a Friday night, and this playoff game is a clash of white and red. On one side is San Clemente, white jerseys offset by a black and red helmet. On the other is St. John Bosco, decked in blue with golden domes. Led by Wilson, San Clemente moved onto the 2011 state semifinals with a 42-24 win. Wilson’s running ability (3 scores) proved an overwhelming advantage.

“We didn’t even know who Sam Darnold was, to be honest with you,” Johnson said.“I don’t even think he was a quarterback.”

He was, but he wasn’t. Darnold sat on the sideline with no chance to play. He warmed up next to Wilson, but that’s all he saw of that field. The same could be said of the other backup quarterback. Rosen passed signals along, but those were the only completions he made that night.

Later that school year, Rosen would receive his first offer (Fresno State) based off his JV film. Darnold would not receive his until 2013 (Utah). His second did not come until 2014. Darnold would not be rated by 247Sports until September 2013 (as a three-star). Rosen had been a five-star for months at that point.

The day after Bosco’s loss, Rosen approached senior starting quarterback Rene Medina. Medina had broken scores of Bosco records during his career, but Rosen had a declaration for him.

“Hey, I’m going to break all your records next year,” Rosen told Medina.

“I come to school, and that’s the first thing he told me,” Medina, now Bosco’s QB coach, said with a laugh. “A lot of people say he’s a dick or an asshole. But he just knows what he wants.”

Johnson compares Rosen to Matt Damon.

Not Damon the actor, but Damon’s character, Will, in Good Will Hunting.

“He’s almost too smart for his own good and it makes people mad,” Johnson said. “That’s where Josh has gotten himself in trouble sometimes.”

Rosen’s high school teammate and friend Matthew Katnik, a shot putter at USC, said Josh “toes the line.” Know him, and you realize what he says is meant in good humor. If you don’t, it can be misunderstood.

Part of Rosen’s issue is he doesn’t fit the traditional role of a college athlete. He’s not fond of platitudes. He speaks his mind – even if it isn’t always in the best interest of UCLA – and raises his voice when an issue concerns him (see the graphic above). “He breaks the mold for sure,” Katnik said. “He’s not afraid to be different than the traditional student athlete.”

Rosen is a thinker. That’s an idea that goes beyond casual conversations with his friends about Elon Musk, who Rosen is obsessed with, or travel. He’s so smart, Katnik, Bosco’s valedictorian Rosen’s year, said Rosen sometimes got “bored with the material.”

Rosen’s thought process and interests are varied. One day, Rosen dreams of taking a road trip with his friends to the music festival Bonnaroo. Inspired by the documentary “No Cameras Allowed,” he hopes to outfit an old-school short bus with some “craigslist couches” screwed into the paneling and throw GoPros everywhere to document the whole thing. He wants to make the drive to Tennessee with stops at the Grand Canyon and to boogie board down sand dunes.

Spencer Wehrly is one of Rosen’s best friends, and he said they bonded over the process of thinking: “It was a little knocking of helmets outside of football.”

People often have a fully formed opinion of Rosen before they actually meet him. Wehrly said that means Rosen must figure out a way to react in those situations.

“It’s funny, when he walks into every new room you can see his brain calculating,” Wehrly said. “He’s actively trying to make sure that, no matter what they say, there’s always a response that can help you relate to him more.”

Rosen actively discusses this sort of mental chess with Wehrly. In high school, St. John Bosco head coach Jason Negro used Rosen’s interest in winning friends and influencing people for the school's benefit, taking Rosen to recruiting events for the general student population. These were one-on-one affairs, where school representatives would go into family homes in an effort to sell Bosco. Rosen was a natural. “He’s able to communicate outside the language of football,” Negro said.

But in college, Rosen’s forays into philosophical thought – and his willingness to share those thoughts with the media – have not been as readily embraced.

Some of Rosen’s comments and actions led UCLA head coach Jim Mora to say of Rosen entering his sophomore year: “I’ve asked him this — I’ve said, ‘Who do you want to be? Do you want to be Johnny Manziel or do you want to be Tom Brady?”

Some NFL scouts have questioned Rosen’s “love of the game.” That’s the narrative that trails Rosen.

But there’s also a rosier alternative analysis, for those who wish to see it.

For one, there’s the fact that Rosen has twice battled back from significant shoulder injuries in order to continue his career – once in high school and once in college.



And where critics like Dilfer see an arrogant kid with poor “buy-in,” his high school coaches would paint a different picture. Johnson studied the playbook with Rosen prior to Elite 11, making flashcards of every play for Rosen to memorize. Each was named after a different Elite 11 alumnus. A curl route dubbed Andrew Luck, for instance. Studying brought questions about several plays. Rosen wanted to ask for clarification to ensure the plays were run correctly.



But Rosen’s quest to know “why” can wear on authority figures. Sometimes, he does it to see how far he can push his point. Once, during spring practice in 2015, Rosen argued with Negro about suspending a weight session so the team could watch the Women’s World Cup. Rosen cited patriotism and feminism in a “very compelling argument.” But eventually Negro had to just say: “Josh, that’s a great idea. But we’re not doing that.”

Coaches know Rosen is curious. They also admit he doesn’t always go about things in the most tactful fashion.

“As a coach, I instructed him, ‘You need to keep your mouth shut and do your thing,’” Negro said. “The coach or the teacher is still the authority, and I think sometimes Josh had a hard time understanding that.”

These curiosities and questions can make Rosen seem disrespectful or brash. But a fuller picture of his Rosen presents a more complicated story.

In the fall of 2014, Bosco was up big during a first round playoff game, but Rosen was on the sideline begging. Rosen wanted Katnik, an offensive lineman, to play fullback. So he told Johnson over and over: “Put him in. Give him the ball.” A dive left later and Katnik had his first career touchdown: “Awesome.”

Once, before his senior season, Rosen hatched a plan to make a few extra bucks. He wanted to sell discount cards and figured he’d employ teammates as a salesman labor force – he’d take half the profits from each card sold. But after some thought, Rosen gave all of his earnings to the football program so his less affluent teammates could afford to fly to Hawaii for the team’s regular season opener. Rosen did much of the work – he’s the one in a suit who pitched local businesses – but thoughtfulness won out.

“He’s a super kind human being,” Negro said. “That’s one thing I don’t think people understand.”

***

Darnold hardly played quarterback his sophomore year, not that he didn’t contribute as a two-way star. Once, he returned an interception for a touchdown and followed that by turning a slant into a score the next series. “He was our most dynamic player,” said San Clemente head coach Jaime Ortiz. But that also meant Darnold fell behind in the accelerated world of quarterback recruiting entering the summer before his junior year

So Darnold and dad made the drive north for a UCLA camp.

California had a superb slate of quarterbacks in the 2015 class – 12 signed with Power Five programs – and many of them were in attendance, including Rosen. Darnold did not walk away with an offer, but he procured something arguably more valuable.

“Dad, I’m as good as any of these guys,” Darnold said on the car ride home.

“When you see Josh Rosen, who is getting all these offers from schools, and you can compete with him, there’s definitely that moment where you’re like, ‘OK, yeah, I can do this too,’” Darnold said.

If Darnold didn’t play football, he’d have had a future on the hardwood.

At least that’s what Marc Popovich, his high school basketball coach, says. A ball-handling forward who had the offense funnel through him as a sophomore, Popovich said Darnold was always “the calm in the chaos” and could’ve easily played D1 hoops.

Ask Darnold’s parents or those who know him best, and they’d say he was the calm outside the chaos as well. Mike Darnold calls his son a “flat liner.” Dad and grandpa would occasionally “get a little vocal” toward the refs during Darnold’s childhood games. Afterward, Darnold would say, "Grandpa, it’s just a game."

Darnold, in many ways, is your prototypical Cali kid. He’s got wavy hair — blond or red, depending on the photo — loves the outdoors and surfs. Popovich, a world history teacher at San Clemente, expected to see a different side of Darnold in the classroom. Instead, Darnold’s classroom personality mirrored his on-court demeanor.

“He was the same kid,” Popovich said. “He was the same kid everywhere.”

He’s the kid who chased after Wilson.

He’s the kid who chased after his sister, Franki, both on and off the court.

“He always looked up to her,” Mike Darnold said. “Sam’s motivation was never academic, but he looked up to her and knew that’s what he had to do.”

Darnold grew up in a Trojan family. He attended USC games with dad – his extended family had season tickets in Section 10 – and wore jerseys of his favorite USC players. Mike Sr. said playing football at USC is “the epitome of what you can be” in the family.

Yet, an offer from the Trojans didn’t come. Ricky Town, a five-star prospect, was already committed and it didn’t look like USC would take two quarterbacks. The family started to narrow things down toward the end of Darnold’s junior year. Darnold picked about four schools he planned to visit unofficially – the family didn’t want to spend weeks on the road and money to trip to schools Sam had minimal interest in – and then-USC offensive coordinator (now head coach) Clay Helton called and asked Sam to throw at a camp.

“I went to Sam, ‘Hey, do you really want to consider this?’" Mike Darnold said. “I didn’t think they were all that serious.”

Sam wanted to go.

He threw at a one-day camp, and the Trojans offered.

“It really was a last-minute thing,” Mike Darnold said.

Most quarterbacks would’ve shied away from committing to the Trojans with a five-star signal caller already in the boat. Darnold had no issue doing so, and that competitive streak has shaped him into the player he is today.

Darnold is the player who, when on the bench and injured as a junior, bore a hole into the field with his eyes, recalled Ortiz. Nobody cared about the team’s losses more, and he didn’t even play. San Clemente went 2-8 that season; both wins occurred before Darnold got hurt. The next year, with Darnold back on the field, the Tritons won 12 games and reached the state championship. Even as an eight-year-old, Popovich described an eight-year-old Darnold as “a little chunk kid” who out-hustled everyone.

Not that his competitiveness always shines outwardly.

Listen to a USC broadcast, and most descriptors of Darnold shade toward composed. Take last year’s Rose Bowl. Darnold threw the game-tying touchdown to Deontay Burnett with 80 seconds remaining. Burnett and teammates celebrated with gusto, but Darnold trotted in late because he’d spent most of the merriment looking over at the sideline to see if the Trojans would go for two.

There is a fire. It just stokes low. But it will cause the occasional burn. Take a basketball game from Darnold’s junior year of high school. San Clemente was up eight with two minutes to go but blew the lead to a league rival. When Darnold went back to the locker room, his anger had to be deflected somewhere. So he took aim at a locker. The locker won, and Darnold broke his pinky.

Mike Darnold described the moment as “trippy.” But Darnold, albeit reluctantly, admitted that is a rare instance where his intensity burned too hot.

“That’s one of those times it got the better of me,” Darnold said with a laugh.

Competitiveness is the reason Darnold continued to climb as a prospect in high school. But success never swayed his perspective. The spring semester of Darnold’s senior year, he attended a Trojans practice where he got to watch Town, starter Cody Kessler and Max Browne go to work.

As he did following the UCLA camp, Darnold told his dad: “I can do this. I’m as good as these guys.”

“Experiencing it for myself the first time and realizing that they’re not throwing it that much harder than I am gives you that little bit of confidence that you can go out and do it yourself,” Darnold said.

Darnold still had to chase the pack when he arrived at USC. He redshirted as a freshman, a year spent on scout team forming bonds with future Trojan stars like Burnett and tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe. Darnold played basketball after practice with his scout-team brethren, all the while simmering on the inside about sitting again.

He knew it’d happen. But Darnold had never excelled at observing. He used to tell his parents how much he hated watching from the bench.

He learned patience. He did what came naturally, too.

“It just fueled the fire to get back out there to show the fans, my family and all my friends I can play college football,” Darnold said. “I’ve just been competing my whole life.”

This summer, Elite 11 was an intersection point for Darnold and Rosen. Rosen served as a counselor for the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles, while Darnold attended The Opening Finals as a counselor for the Elite 11 event there in Beaverton.

Darnold came to Oregon in a much different place than he did years ago.

He may hate “fake football,” but Darnold won the camp counselor competition with the highest score ever recorded. Darnold is a Heisman favorite entering 2017 and a Rose Bowl MVP. Town is long gone – already twice transferred – and expectations are now thrust upon the player who had been perpetually in pursuit.

Not that Darnold will admit to looking at it in that way.

Darnold prefers a retreat from fame. He makes the short drive home frequently and is content shooting hoops in the backyard. He still sends “I love you texts” to grandpa. His motivation is simple.

“Wanting to win,” Darnold said. “I don’t think I’m satisfied at all. A lot of people would say I’ve arrived and all that kind of stuff. But, at the same time, you’ve got to keep playing the game. And I love playing the game.”

Rosen’s situation is a little different.

He’s coming off a shoulder injury that cost him the final six games of his sophomore season. Rosen is also working with his third offensive coordinator in three years. The path for the prospect once heralded as the best passer of his generation has been fraught with hazards – and that’s not even counting his battle with public perception.

A return to Elite 11 was a checkmark in Rosen’s favor. Dilfer’s infamous criticism still rings loudly, both in the public sphere and with scouts, and Roberts said Rosen’s willingness to appear showed a lot. Rosen constantly asked questions of the Elite 11 staffers. Later, he gave a speech to the quarterbacks at the event that Roberts described as “fantastic.”

“He forgets any type of experience good or bad, and he’s willing to put it aside,” Roberts said. “With Josh it was, ‘When do you want me to come? When do you want me to speak? When do you want me to work out?’”

For Rosen, this is a year of change. A 247Sports True Freshman All-American in 2015 and a frat hero with his hot tub photo, Rosen was formerly the golden child. But the Manziel comparisons, bad press and injuries would take a toll on anyone.

The version of Rosen friends have seen this offseason is different. Not more mature – that’s a natural progression for a college student – but instead more reserved. He’s still Rosen. The music festival dreams remain, and he still texts Katnik to make sure they still stay in touch. But his idea of a fun night has shifted. One bad SnapChat video and his career could take yet another turn. Whirly said Rosen is no longer going out “to do wild things.”

Rosen’s also more conscious of his impact on others. In a conversation with Whirly this summer the night before a camping trip, Rosen told Whirly he’s trying to be more vulnerable.

Rosen still asks questions, but not just to know the why or flex his intellect. Instead, it’s in an effort to truly learn from others.



“That really stunned me,” Wehrly said. “He had always had that confident cloak a quarterback has. … But now he wants to step back and say, ‘I realize a lot of people have knowledge and capability that I won’t find out for many, many years unless that I ask them and show them I’m not as good as them in certain areas.’”

Ask Negro about Rosen having a peer, and the first name to pop up is a former No. 1 overall pick.

“Andrew Luck was somebody he wanted to model himself after, he liked Peyton Manning because of the cerebral part of the game,” Negro, his high school coach, said. “He had those guys. But in terms of his age group? No.”

He certainly does now.

It took a while for their paths to cross. But, barring injury, Rosen and Darnold will square off in the Coliseum this November, and that battle will spill over into the 2018 NFL Draft, where both, if they declare, will duel to be the No. 1 overall pick. That’s a distinction quarterbacks tend to shoo away, but you won’t find either Darnold or Rosen doing so. Darnold said it’s “really cool” to have experts project him in that way. Rosen, for his part, has had the idea of the NFL draft circling around him since he arrived at UCLA.

As for that competition, there are questions about both.

Scouts love Darnold’s competitiveness, mobility and arm. But he’s started only 10 college games and can get in trouble with high-risk 50-50 throws. With Rosen, questions about both his character and football dedication linger. NFL.com analyst and longtime scout Bucky Brooks (also an Elite 11 counselor) said Rosen is a “rare” prospect, but his NFL future might depend on the coaches around him. If he has a “healthy dose of respect” for them he will be “everything you want in a franchise QB.” But partnered with a rigid coaching staff in terms of thought, Brooks said Rosen may have “a tendency to get bored.”

Some scouts prefer Darnold. Put NFL.com senior analyst and longtime NFL executive Gil Brandt in that category.

“He’s got a chance to be great,” Brandt said. “When you see him move, he’s a special player. … I’m not as high on Josh Rosen as probably some other people. I don’t think he’s in Sam Darnold’s area.”

Yet Rosen remains the specimen.

247Sports Director of Scouting Barton Simmons called Rosen “the perfect prospect” when remembering his high school skillset. And that arm remains elite as evidenced by his workout at Elite 11 earlier this year coming off an injury.

“It was a sight to see,” Roberts said. “It made the coaching staff’s jaws drop just watching it in action.”

Rosen and Darnold are at the center of a potential quandary. Darnold is the prototypical “football-playing dude,” blue-collar and easy to relate to. The other, Rosen, is more of a challenge to traditional football typecasts. His interests are academic, and in the wrong situation some of the traits that make him potentially great could grate on an organization.

“Sam has all the traits, intangibles, the things you look for,” Brooks said. “He is the stereotypical field general most teams want as their quarterback. ... I think Sam is easier to evaluate because it’s kind of all on his sleeve.

“(Josh) absolutely can be knocked and stereotyped. There are a lot of people who have taken some of the things he’s said away from the field and put that on him and say he could be a challenge. Football can be a little old school. … His biggest evaluation will have little to do with his on-field performance and more to do with how he clicks and connects with his teammates and coaches.”

The miles provided little buffer, nonetheless Rosen and Darnold remain only passing acquaintances.

But the barrier doesn’t necessarily extend to those around them.

Former USC offensive lineman Damien Mama also blocked for Rosen in high school. Cal quarterbacks coach Marques Tuiasosopo served as USC’s associate head coach for offense Darnold’s freshman season before becoming UCLA’s QB coach in 2016. Even Katnik is Darnold’s neighbor at USC.

“They share a lot of similarities,” Katnik said. “They’re both extremely nice, easy to talk to. They’re easy going, laid back. That could be the beach mentality. I’m trying to think of a difference …. Josh does have a lot of grit, an ability to preserve. I don’t think bouncing back is going to be much of a problem for him. Sam Darnold shows that on the field when he’s getting tackled by three 300-pound lineman and manages to get away and throw a TD or something.

“It’s kind of crazy to think about.”

Darnold and Rosen will be picked apart over the coming months for their differences.

Rosen, in the public’s eye, will likely remain a potential Manziel-like figure. But look deeper, and he’s remains the kid who took his offensive linemen out to dinner in high school.

He’s complicated; a student who challenges the very idea of being a student athlete. Rosen adapts himself to whatever situation he’s in. Yet, in part due to his inability to conform, he remains singular.

Darnold is now the model. He’s a trophy-winning QB at a school that worships the position. His family lost their season tickets the year before Darnold arrived in Los Angeles; now they sit in the player section and tear up when they see a kids running around in a No. 14 jersey.

The Trojan quarterback is exactly who coaches want to coach. Want to know where Darnold’s Archie Griffin Award is — or, for that matter, his Rose Bowl ring? Check his trunk. The Griffin award, originally UPSed to the school and given to Darnold in an envelope, remained in Darnold’s car under dirty clothes and a beach chair for two or three weeks before dad cleaned out his car.

“I’m like, ‘Sam, what is this?,'” Mike Darnold said.

After opening it, Sam’s response: “Oh, yeah, that’s cool.”

Barring injury, Rosen and Darnold will meet for the first time in non-fake football action later this season. It’ll be a clash of more than just potential No. 1 picks. It’ll be the collision of a story long overdue to intersect.

“Their careers have paralleled in a lot of ways, yet they’ve never really crossed paths,” Mike Darnold said. “Sam doesn’t know Josh at all ...

“... It’s ironic.”

Two generational quarterbacks. One city. Two distinct stories.

For now.