Josh Rosen Goes There: The 'A' in SAT Isn't for Alabama

Published on 8-Aug-2017 by Alan Adamsson

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Update

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Josh Rosen Goes There: The 'A' in SAT Isn't for Alabama

First of all, kudos to UCLA slinger Josh Rosen for having something to say in pre-season that isn't the stilted vanilla tripe that usually pops outta college lips these days.

Secondly, dude definitely knows how to pick a dynamic example.

Thirdly, he's wise enough to make sure that his chosen example isn't on UCLA's schedule anytime soon.

And finally, the Bruin junior's seen first-hand that smart kids and strong football programs aren't mutually exclusive.

No one's ever gonna accuse those fine young scholars on Leland Stanford Jr's farm of falling off turnip trucks.

Alabama's matriculating Tidesters, on the other hand ...

Maybe the fact that Nick Saban's charges are perennial title contenders is what makes them an easy  target.

Perhaps it's because Alabama football is known even to non-sports fans that makes them a prime example for brawn supplanting brain on the gridiron.

Whatever, they're the poster boys for Rosen's observation that the combination of football and academic obligations can be a bit much:

OK, raise the SAT requirement at Alabama and see what kind of team they have.

Dude was making a bigger point, and no doubt most of the Crimson Tide's fandom understood he wasn't trolling.

It doesn't hurt that Alabama athletics lead Division I in Academic All-Americans in all sports. Other honorees this past year included a pair of prominent pigskin names:

To be sure, there are some who make others wonder how they got admitted, but there are only a handful of schools where that's not the case.

Currently, North Carolina's where that spotlight is deservedly glaring.

As to Rosen's self-described dilemma, most schools have policies in place where they'll cover athletes' academic expenses for years after their eligibility has ended. He can surely double back and pick up the classes he's missed then.

The issue of student-athletes actually being both -- as opposed to student-employees or pro jock apprentices -- has too much money involved for it to be easily resolved.

Still, the parties involved must first agree that it needs to be resolved.

It'll happen someday. Maybe.

hell freezes over