By Jason Prach
Heisman winner and QB Joe Burrow defeats the Clemson Tigers 42-25 to help the LSU Tigers win the College Football National Championship. Burrow is expected to go #1 overall in Aprils’ NFL Draft to the Cincinatti Bengals, where he could play in his home state again.
The LSU Tigers defeated the Clemson Tigers 42-25 to win the 2019 National Championship. There is much talk and hype about the quarterback going #1 to the Cincinatti Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas in April. Will the Bengals take him #1 overall? It would seem like it after there abysmal season of 2-14, and the red rider Andy Dalton more than likely going elsewhere. This may seem like the pick for the Bengals, but we have seen some crazier things happen in the draft. Like in 1989, Troy Aikman going first overall to Dallas, and Green Bay selecting Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich #2 over Barry Sanders. Who fell to Detroits’ lap at 3. Okay okay, maybe not the best example but you get my drift. Theres going to be the next 90 days of chatter come April, so lets wait on it. Can we reflect on Joe Burrow the person and how he got to this point?
Joseph Lee Burrow was born December 10, 1996 in Ames, Iowa. His father Jim Burrow who has been a defensive coordinator mainly in college for all of Joes’ life. Jim was the Iowa State Cyclones DC in the mid 1990’s. He was drafted by Green Bay in the 1976 NFL draft. After a season, he played some CFL, and after more than 35 years of coaching, he decided it was time to watch his son play football in his final collegiate season at LSU. He was the Ohio Bobcats dfensive coordinator from 2005-2018. Hey why not right? Timing is everything in life, and maybe even in sports in this case.
There is a long history of athletes in the Burrow family. According to a Sports Illustrated story, his grandmother in the 1940’s scored 82 points once in a basketball game for Mississippi State. Joe has 2 brothers who played football for Nebraska as well. From his birthplace in Ames Iowa, the Burrow family moved to Fargo, North Dakota in 2003. Jim took a postion as defensive coordinator for the North Dakota State Bison. 2 years later, the family moved to Athens, Ohio in 2005. The defensive coach took the DC job at Ohio University until his eventual retirement at the end of the 2018 campaign.In 2011, Joe Burrow and his football career took off like his rocket launcher of an arm. He shot to stardom in high school, and was awarded the state of Ohios’ Mr. Football after 4 years ofelectric football at Athens High School from 2011-2014. There has been some notable company since the AP had started voting on this prestigious award back in 1987. Robert Smith of Ohio State was the first to win it. Michigan 1997 National Champion and Heisman winner Charles Woodson , and current NFL Bears Quarterback Mitch Trubisky are also a few other notable players. Trubisky went to Mentor High and won his in 2012.
Pretty good company wouldn’t you say? After throwing for over 11,000 yards, 157 passing touchdowns, and 27 rushing on the ground. Joe committed to play football for the Ohio State Buckeyes on May 27, 2014. In High School he led his team to 3 straight playoff appearances and 7 straight playoff wins. In his last season as the Athens Bulldog QB, he led his team to a 14-1 record.Certainly unheard of, you would figure oh he is an easy shoe in for the starting job at Ohio State and knock off rival Michigan over and over. As Lee Corso would put it, “not so fast my friend.” In 2015 he was red shirted by then Head Coach Urban Meyer, and sat behind starter J.T Barrett. It really didn’t matter who was starting then at OSU even now, they are still one of the top 5 football college football powerhouses today. In 3 short uneventful years o football for Burrow, he transferred to LSU. Here is my question, would Joe Burrow have been the best QBever in the BIG Conference? Imagine how many titles he could’ve won as a Buckeye had Dwayne Haskins not been named the starter there. Truth be told he could have thrived in Meyers’ offense. He was also the #8 ranked dual threat QB according to 247sports.com and a 4 star recruit.
He had came out of relief for the Bucks, 10 games for 287 yards 2 tds . So in May after Haskins was named starter, He took his ball and went south to Baton Rouge to play for Coach Ed Orgeron. However in the 3 years at OSU he did earn his degree in consumer and family financial services. In 2018 for the Tigers , he lead the team to a 10-3 record and knocking off then undefeated #7 UCF (12-1) 40-32 in the Fiesta Bowl. Burrow threw for 394 yards on 21-34 that day with 4 touchdowns and a 192 rating. It also didn’t hurt to have all American running back Nick Brosette behind him either. He contributed 117 yards on 29 carries in the win. The Tigers finished strong and were #6 in the final polls.You want some crazy video game stats?? He has them all, In the playoff semifinal vs Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl, Burrow 7 touchdown passes, in ONE HALF!! A peach Bowl record and a drubbing of the sooners 63-28. Look Jalen Hurts is a pretty good Quarterback over there forthe Sooners okay, and no pushover by any means.
The National Title game was no different for Burrows’ standards really. 6 total Touchdowns with 1 on the ground. En Route to a 463 yard night for a 42-25 National Title win. He finishes off what most people could argue him being the best ever player to lay the game of College Football. 60 total touchdown passes, breaks Colt Brennan (Hawaii 58) in 2006. 5,671 pass yards 204.6 rating for the year.
On December 14, 2019 Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy Unanimously and won it running away with it. It is considered the largest margin of victory in the history of the most coveted award in Collegiate sports. He may have somewhat of a cocky attitude but its a confidence that really is the shining point here. He shows his a winner at life and in football. At his acceptance speech led to almost 500,000 in donations toward the local food bank in Athens County Ohio and over 13,000 donors across the USA. Great job sir and Im certainly here to root this young man on. How can you not root for this 23 year old, you will certainly be able to help your neighborhood of Athens Ohio, surely they will be greatly appreciate your support and have gained so much respect in the community. Joe Burrow, you earned it!
