DALLAS _ If Sam Darnold has said it once, he's said it a million times.
But just for emphasis, USC's sophomore quarterback said it nearly a dozen more times Wednesday: He hasn't decided whether he'll play in college or the NFL next season.
"(I'm) taking everything into consideration," said Darnold, who won't announce a decision until after Friday's Cotton Bowl game with No. 5 Ohio State. "(I'll) talk to my coaches, talk to my parents, obviously. But I'm not going to do that until after the bowl game."
Even as Darnold was insisting he hasn't made a decision, there are people who are convinced the choice has been made. So when he slipped into the past tense Wednesday morning while answering more than 40 minutes worth of questions about his future, that was quickly seen as a sign he'd made a decision.
The recent announcement that Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High School quarterback J.T. Daniels, who shares a private coach with Darnold, was leaving high school a year early to enroll at USC was also interpreted as evidence that Darnold had decided to leave.
However, Tee Martin, USC's offensive coordinator, said he's waiting until after Friday to sit down with Darnold to discuss the future. Martin said he's confident his quarterback, a likely early first-round pick in next spring's draft should he declare for the NFL, would find success wherever he plays.
"He's very aggressive. If there's a little hole to get the ball in there, he's going to try to get that ball in that hole," Martin said. "He sees things really fast. His process of elimination is uncanny. And he can do it all. Whether it's the legs, whether it's the throws _ deep throws, intermediate throws _ seeing the pressures ...
"His ability to manage the magnitude of things and still perform on Saturdays has been really good. To a professional level."
