Why did Joe Burrow leave Ohio State?
Joe Burrow played high school football in the state of Ohio. He attended Athens High School, where he would be highly recruited by many college football programs because of his great success there. Following his senior season in 2014, he was named Mr. Football Ohio and the Gatorade Player of the Year award in Ohio.
He was naturally recruited heavily by The Ohio State University. They are one of the top college football programs in the country and being in Burrow's home state gave them an edge in the recruiting process. He committed to Ohio State during the spring of 2014 and will be attending as a freshman.
Hard not to root for Joe Burrow 🎯
“I’ve been told I wasn’t good enough since recruiting.” https://t.co/5rY2lnSwVQ
Joe Burrow was redshirted during his freshman year at Ohio State, as many promising freshman prospects often times are. The redshirting process makes a player ineligible to play during their freshman season, but adds an extra year of eligibility at the end of their college career. It's an opportunity for the players to focus on learning about the system in their first season.
After his redshirted season, Burrow spent the next two seasons as the primary back-up quarterback to J.T. Barrett, one of the most successful quarterbacks in Ohio State history. In 2018 Burrow learned that he was unlikely to be Barrett's successor, but instead the Buckeyes were planning to go with Dwayne Haskins instead.
This new information led Burrow to enter the transfer portal. He wanted to go to a different college football program where he would have a better opportunity to be named the starting quarterback. He ultimately chose LSU as his destination.
Joe Burrow's college football career at LSU
Joe Burrow's wish to be a starting quarterback was granted in his first season with LSU. In 2018 he played a solid 10-3 record, but it was the 2019 college football season that was really something special. He helped LSU get a perfect 15-0 record while winning a National Championship. He was named the winner of the Heisman Trophy in the biggest landslide voting victory of all time.
Dating back to college, Joe Burrow is 7-0 in postseason games. https://t.co/Ob5BKAb3Wp
Many consider Burrow's 2019 season to be the best by any quarterback in college football history. He completed 76 percent of his passes for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns. He also added 368 rushing yards and five touchdowns. His spectacular season resulted in him being selected as the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.