Before catapulting into NFL stardom and becoming the top overall pick in the NFL Draft, Joe Burrow made a pivotal life decision on May 18, 2018: transferring out of Ohio State.
Following that decision, he became one of the more dominating college football quarterbacks of all time. Now, he’s an AFC champion quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals.
But why did the Ohio native transfer out of Columbus?
Why Joe Burrow Transferred From Ohio State to LSU
While Burrow played for the home state university, he became buried on the Buckeye’s depth chart the moment he set foot on the campus.
In 2015, national champion Cardale Jones and prized recruit J.T. Barrett were on the roster as QB1 and QB2. Then, from 2016 to 2017, Barrett supplanted himself as the QB leader.
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And just as it appeared the experienced Burrow would finally get the starting reins, along came two new challengers in highly touted 2017 five-star Tate Martell and the late Dwayne Haskins. The latter ultimately distanced himself as the starter.
And with Haskins taking the mantle behind center, Burrow went from “I came here to play” to entering his name into the transfer portal with two years of eligibility left.
How Did Burrow End Up in Baton Rouge?
In leaving Ohio State, Burrow went from holding the tile of Ohio’s “Mr. Football” in 2015 to barely garnering interest in the portal.
Burrow even revealed how one particular school, his father’s alma mater, Nebraska, told him they were uninterested in a December 2019 interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi.
“I wanted to go to Nebraska. They told me I wasn’t good enough. Ohio State was my only big-time offer,” Burrow shared.
However, then-LSU head coach Ed Orgeron took a liking to Burrow and his game at quarterback. And he gave a southern touch to his recruitment of Burrow.
Per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated in a May 29, 2018 interview, “Coach O” not only got to talk “all ball” with Burrow and his father, but the meeting involved boiled crawfish as part of the recruitment visit down in Louisiana.
Since then, Orgeron ended up getting a game-changer for a program with a heavy abundance of prestige. For all the rich football history in Baton Rouge, it was Burrow who emerged as the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner and ended LSU’s national title dry spell by walloping Clemson.
Did Burrow Ever Start for the Buckeyes?
Because of how congested the signal-caller race became in Columbus, Burrow never got a single start.
He got playing time in 10 games, which was in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Burrow, though, put up minimal stats.
In the end, he completed 29 of 39 passes for 287 yards, completed 74.4% of his passes, and tossed just two touchdowns with no interceptions.
At LSU, he compiled 8,565 yards with 76 total touchdowns and 11 interceptions — catapulting himself into the Heisman conversation and later the top pick in the draft.
And his stardom likely would’ve never happened if it weren’t for one crucial decision he made in May 2018.
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