Rosen’s first SI cover is the 128th time a UCLA student-athlete has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has been selected for the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, which also happens to be the magazine’s college football preview issue.
SI’s Pete Thamel has written an extensive profile on Rosen for the issue, but the article has already been posted online.
Overall, it’s an interesting look at the Bruin QB.
In the article, Rosen says that he doesn’t want to be Manziel or Manning. Rosen explains:
I’m not going to f‑‑‑‑‑‑ get in trouble for drugs or anything like that, but I don’t want to be this crystal-clean guy with perfect responses. I’m not going to pretend to be 50. I just want to be happy and enjoy the experiences I have and take advantage of every opportunity I’ve been given.
He further explains:
I’m not a social media guy. I’m not. It’s just once every three weeks it’s like, “Hey, let’s shake some s‑‑‑ up.” I like to be a real person and show personality. People appreciate that.
While this may be the first interview this season Rosen has been allowed to do, but, rest assured, it won’t be the last. At Pac-12 Media Days, Coach Jim Mora mentioned that Rosen will speak to the media every Monday, which means we may hear from Rosen again sometime today.
Now, of course, this leaves us with one question: Can Josh Rosen withstand the SI Curse? UCLA’s last two SI Covers featured Brett Hundley and, while he stayed healthy, that team didn’t meet the expectations many fans had.
Go Bruins!!!