John Elway, Matt Russell, Gary Kubiak are attending Cotton Bowl to watch quarterback Sam Darnold

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, Broncos General Manager John Elway, his right-hand man Matt Russell, and former Head Coach and now a scout for the Broncos, Gary Kubiak will attend tonight’s Cotton Bowl between USC and Ohio State.

Obviously, both teams have multiple NFL caliber talents that the team will consider this offseason, but all eyes will be on USC’s Sam Darnold tonight.

Darnold is a 6’4”, 220lb quarterback for the USC Trojans who has been called a top two pick in this April’s NFL Draft if he decides to declare. He has yet to really say one way or another publicly so everyone is anxiously anticipating his decision because it will shake up the top of the first round.

He entered the 2017 season with some high expectations and he kinda disappointed. He didn’t play badly by any means, but he did not reach the high expectations that were placed on him. He flashed NFL talent at times and then would have a costly interception or a poor decision. So how he fairs tonight against a tough Ohio State team will be big for him if he decides to declare.

Darnold passed for 3, 787 yards this season with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for the USC Trojans offense.

The Broncos already watched Wyoming’s Josh Allen last week as he put up three touchdowns early in that game. They’ll watch Darnold tonight and then watch Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield on Monday Night.

One thing is clear, the Broncos are doing their homework on this upcoming quarterback class. They could be picking as high as fourth overall in April’s NFL Draft so the names Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield, Allen, Jackson, and others will be connected to Denver in the coming weeks and months.

Other prospects to watch in this include USC running back Ronald Jones and defensive end Rasheem Green. Ohio State’s center Billy Price is a player to watch as well. Many have him as the top center in the 2018 NFL Draft.