USC quarterback Sam Darnold has long been pegged as the top prospect in the 2018 draft. Now, there’s word that he could instead wait until the 2019 draft. Several sources close to Darnold tell Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com they wouldn’t be surprised if the QB played two more seasons at USC. 
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Of course, Darnold has tons of time to make his decision, so it’s too early for this year’s rebuilding teams (like the Jets) to panic about what Darnold will or won’t do. Naturally, his performance in 2017 will be a factor in whether he jumps after his redshirt sophomore season or spends another season with the Trojans.
If Darnold performs at the level that he’s expected to, then he’ll solidify himself as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 class. If that’s the case, then frankly it would be hard to see him gambling with his future by spending another year in school.
Darnold impressed scouts last season as he threw for 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Darnold also completed 67.2% of his throws.
He should remain in school. Get his degree while improving his game. He definitely needs more seasoning.
These articles are itiotic at best. Who writes theses things? Dribble from a USC booster. Ask Matt Leinart how waiting an extra year sounds before you pollute the internet with your uneducated pontification.
Andrew Luck was considered the potential #1 pick in the 2011 draft and he decided to go back to Stanford for another year.
Congratulations, you found ONE person who went back and it paid off! BTW Luck was NOT the consensus #1 pic in 2011 but was in 2012. For every Luck there are 10 Leinarts.
He probably wasn’t the consensus or unanimous choice at #1 for every team in 2011, but he was widely regarded as the best QB potentially available in that draft (yes even ahead of Cam Newton). Considering Cam went #1 overall, its likely Luck would’ve gone #1 if he entered the draft. Remember, there was some debate between Newton and Gabbert about who was going to go first. And I agree, for every Luck there are 10 Leinarts, but there are also plenty of guys (usually non-QBs) who go back an extra year and either their stock rose or didn’t change. But if a player is being touted as the potential #1 pick in the upcoming draft, I’d agree that there is no reason for him to go back to college for another year.
*Idiotic
Or jake locker, his draft stock plummeted by waiting a year
Jake plummeted all the way to 8 I hope he was holding onto something during that freefall.
He will be at the upcoming draft with his accountant and his Brinks truck.
By the time he is done he can buy his own university.
“Buy his own university”…. calm down
There are plenty of JuCo’s he could afford to buy with his rookie contract and endorsements.
The best example of why not to wait, is Mat Barkley. He was also from USC, was projected as a sure top 5 pick, maybe #1 overall. Stayed an extra year, struggled, got hurt, and went in the 4th round. Now he’s a career backup.
Look at USC QBs there is a pretty good sample size that don’t make good NFL QBs. I know a few do but there are many that don’t. I wonder if the avg is higher than the league avg for QBs that don’t make it or the same? Is it they come out with more hype so the flame out is bigger when they fail or are just mediocre? Kind of like Heisman winning QBs many of them seem to fail in the NFL. Would be interesting for someone that likes to dig into those type of stats to figure it out.