30 college football players with the biggest shoes to fill in 2018

Shoes to Fill: Josh Rosen

Like its crosstown rival, UCLA must also find a new quarterback. Josh Rosen made the predictable leap to the NFL, though unlike USC, the Bruins have an experienced contingent on hand to fill Rosen’s shoes in 2018.

Rosen, on the shortlist of players considered worthy of selection as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, had his best overall college season in 2017, throwing for 3,756 yards and 26 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions, while completing 62.6 percent of his passes. In three years with the Bruins, Rosen threw for 9,341 yards and 59 touchdowns.

However, those three years also included time on the sidelines recovering from injury. Rosen missed the second half of his sophomore season in 2016 with a severe shoulder injury. He returned healthy in 2017 but missed two games with concussion concerns – a silver lining since it helped Devon Modster audition for the starting job once Rosen declared his intention to leave school for the draft.

Modster saw action in five games and made starts against Utah and Kansas State. He also replaced Rosen when he was knocked out of the regular season finale against Cal. Overall, the rising sophomore completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 671 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

It was a solid debut and should give Modster the early edge over Matt Lynch and Austin Burton to be Chip Kelly’s starting quarterback in 2018. However, there are two other names to watch: K.J. Carta-Samuels and Dorian Thompson-Lynch. Carta-Samuels, a graduate transfer from Washington, will be available for spring practice, putting him on even footing when Kelly holds his first practice with his new team. Thompson-Robinson, an athletic four-star recruit with a rocket arm, fits the college mold we’re used to seeing under Kelly and should be the long-term option for the program.