Avoiding sophomore slumps

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen (3) against Virginia Cavaliers in the first half of a NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen (3) against Virginia Cavaliers in the first half of a NCAA college football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015.
(Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

The UCLA football team returns in 75 days, when the Bruins take the field at College Station against Texas A&M on Sept. 3. It’ll be the start of Josh Rosen’s sophomore season after he was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and a freshman All-America. He passed for 3,670 yards (282.3 per game) and 23 touchdowns to 11 interceptions while completing 60 percent of his passes.

Now the question is what Rosen will do next.

To look at what’s already been done in this situation, here are a few notable, recent quarterbacks who started as true freshmen and how their sophomore seasons compared to their rookie campaigns. These quarterbacks started at least 12 games during their freshman seasons, with three of them starting all of their team’s games like Rosen did in his first year.

Robert Griffin III and Terrelle Pryor also had notable seasons as true freshmen, but are not included in this graphic because so much of their impact came through rushing yards, which is not necessarily where Rosen makes his mark.

This is obviously a short list of names, so if you’re interested in having another quarterback added for comparison, leave it in the comments below and I’ll update it.