USC Football: Sam Darnold could pass up 2018 NFL Draft, stay in school

According to reports, USC football’s star quarterback Sam Darnold could stay in school for two more seasons.

Sam Darnold had one of the best freshman seasons of any quarterback in recent memory. Although he didn’t win the Heisman like Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel did in their freshman years, the USC football quarterback burst onto the scene and led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl.

Clay Helton’s team had been searching for a quarterback and the Trojans landed on Darnold who did not let them down. They began the season 1-3 and he turned them around, leading them to nine straight victories to end the year.

Entering his redshirt sophomore year with the Trojans, maybe believe it’ll be his last in Southern California since he will become draft eligible following the season. However, that’s not a lock just yet.

According to Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, sources are claiming that it wouldn’t be much of a shock if Darnold remained in school for two more years, entering the 2019 NFL Draft.

What makes most sense for the talented USC quarterback, though? His stock is at an all-time high and it’s happened before where a player returns to school for one more season than he should and he either suffers an injury or hurts his draft image.

I’m not saying Darnold is like the rest of the players to decide to come back one year after becoming draft eligible, but if he’s considered the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, there’s no way he should pass that up to return to school.

Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: Way-too-early edition

What do you think the best move for the USC quarterback would be? The overwhelming public opinion is likely “go pro” but he is going to follow his heart and that may very well bring him back to school for a redshirt junior year.