Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was born in Ames, Iowa, but spent his high school days in Athens, Ohio, home of the Ohio University Bobcats.
Because of his Ohio pedigree, it only made sense that Burrow committed to play college football at Ohio State University, the top football program in the state and one of the top programs in the country.
Despite his commitment and beginning his career in Columbus, Burrow announced that he would be transferring to Louisiana State University, aka LSU, on May 18, 2018 with the following classic Tweet.
Excited to be playing in Death Valley next season. Ready to get to work.
— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) May 19, 2018
Burrow’s tweet hardly caused a stir back then, but it would turn out to be one of the most important moments in recent college football history, as the 6-foot-3 Burrow would end up leading the Tigers to college football’s promised land in 2019, notching arguably the best statistical season for an NCAA history at his position.
Burrow threw for a staggering 5,671 yards to go with 60 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in his final season in Baton Rouge, winning the Heisman Trophy with 841 first-place votes to just 12 for the second-place finisher, Jalen Hurts of Alabama, and 20 for Ohio State’s Chase Young, who finished fourth in that year’s final vote.
Now, Burrow finds himself in an entirely new position as he prepares to take the field next Sunday for Super Bowl LVI.
Not only has he been busy dealing with the hype, pressure and circumstances leading up to the big matchup against Matthew Stafford and the Rams, he also has apparently taken note of an Instagram post from one of the sports world’s biggest stars that called into question his feelings on Ohio State.
Joe Burrow Sets the Record Straight — “I’m Definitely Still a Buckeye”
While Burrow didn’t have the lion’s share of his college football success with the Buckeyes, he did spend three years developing in Columbus, throwing 39 passes and enjoying a modicum of success, as shown in the stats chart below from Sports-Reference.com.
Six days ago, former LSU Tiger and NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal shared the following post with an alleged comment from Burrow that has still not been verified by any major sports media organization.
Whether Burrow actually said it or not, the perception on Burrow and the Buckeyes changed in a hurry after O’Neal shared it considering the enormous clout “Shaq Diesel” possesses in the sports world.
A seasoned sports journalist himself, it doesn’t stand to reason that O’Neal would share a fake quote, adding even more to the mystery and suspense.
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Burrow finally set the record straight about the O’Neal post at a Thursday press conference, when he shared his most current thoughts on Ohio State and whether he still considers himself a Buckeye or not.
“Yeah, I’m definitely still a Buckeye,” Burrow said to reporters Thursday during a Zoom press conference, according to 247Sports.”
“I graduated from there. I still have relationships to this day that I wouldn’t have without being there.
I’m still in contact with coach (Mickey Marotti), coach (Ryan) Day and Corey (Dennis).
All those guys. I’m still a Buckeye.”
Burrow graduated from Ohio State the same month he released his transfer tweet, after Pittsburgh Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins was named the starter.
