LOS ANGELES -- UCLA has named true freshman Josh Rosen the team's starting quarterback, coach Jim Mora announced Wednesday.
Rosen, viewed by many as the top quarterback in the Class of 2015, beat out junior Jerry Neuheisel to win the job.
"When you're recruiting the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the country, you kind of hope that he lives up to that billing," Mora said, "and we haven't played one single snap of real football yet, but at this point he's living up to that billing."
Mora informed the quarterbacks of the decision Wednesday morning, but did not address the topic with the rest of the team.
Rosen threw for 8,473 yards and 90 touchdowns during a decorated prep career at nearby St. John Bosco High, before enrolling at UCLA in January. Mora credited Rosen's early enrollment as a key in his ability to mesh with him teammates and get up to speed in time to be named the starter.
"He's been here for winter, spring, summer so they know him," Mora said. "It's not like he just got here two, three weeks ago. Being an early admit has really helped and I think what has happened over the course of the last few months [his teammates have] come to know him, like him and respect him."
Mora saved most of his praise for Neuheisel, the son of former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, who served as the backup to Brett Hundley in 2014. He was named the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Bruins to a comeback win against Texas in the third game of the season.
"I don't know that you could find a better representative of what a student-athlete is supposed to be than Jerry Neuheisel. He is the epitome of a UCLA Bruin," Mora said. "He loves this school. It's definitely important to him that he represents this school, his school, in a positive way. It was obviously a very difficult thing for him to hear, but he handled it very, very well.
"Like I told Jerry this morning when I was delivering the disappointing news to him my hope is that some day I can be sitting up in the Rose Bowl stands watching him as the head coach at UCLA because I think that is one of his dreams."
No. 13 UCLA opens the season against Virginia at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 5.