What will Joe Burrow do next?
Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy at LSU with a record-setting season in 2019, is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. That would be the latest step in a journey that took him from Ohio to Louisiana back to Ohio one more time.
He reflected on that journey after leading LSU to a 42-25 victory against Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 13.
"I don't know what else to say," Burrow said in the postgame news conference. "There's been so many people that have come into this — that helped me along my journey from Ohio, Louisiana, everywhere. We couldn't have done it with a better group of guys."
That has been the MO for Burrow since his high school days and should continue at the next level.
MORE: Why Joe Burrow's connection to Ohio means more than ever at NFL Draft
Joe Burrow's football family
Joe Burrow’s father Jim played defensive back at Nebraska from 1974-75 and was a longtime assistant coach at the FBS level. Jim Burrow was the defensive coordinator for Ohio from 2005-18. He took last year off to watch Joe play for LSU.
Mr. Football and Ohio hero
Burrow’s career began at Athens High School. He led the team to a 37-4 record as a starter from 2012-14, and that included a run to the state championship game as a senior.
Burrow was named Mr. Football in Ohio that year in a season where he passed for 63 TDs and just two interceptions. That was foreshadowing for his senior season at LSU in 2019.
Burrow was a four-star recruit, and he stayed in-state with Ohio State, where he was a backup quarterback from 2015-18.
MORE: How Joe Burrow’s Heisman speech raised thousands for Ohio charity
Why did Joe Burrow transfer from Ohio State?
Burrow was in a three-way race with Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell to replace J.T. Barrett in 2018. Urban Meyer stuck with Haskins, and Burrow decided to transfer to LSU.
Burrow started in 13 games in 2018 and finished with 2,894 yards, 16 TDs and five interceptions in more of a game manager role. Ed Orgeron hired passing game coordinator Joe Brady from the New Orleans Saints the following season, and the rest is history.
Burrow had one of the greatest single seasons in college football history. He led LSU to a 15-0 record with 5,671 yards, 60 TDs and six interceptions. He broke several FBS single-season records and had an unforgettable two-game run in the College Football Playoff where accounted for 1,035 total yards of offense.
Joe Burrow's Heisman speech
Burrow stayed true to his Ohio roots, and his Heisman Trophy speech helped raise almost $500,000 for the Athens County Food Pantry.
Burrow has stayed active in the area while trying to fight the spread of COVID-19 in Ohio in the last few months – which is another reason he would be popular with the close-to-home Bengals.
Heisman winners picked No. 1 overall
Burrow would be the 23rd Heisman Trophy winner to be taken No. 1 in the NFL Draft. He would join this list of player who accomplished that feat:
| YEAR | PLAYER | COLLEGE | TEAM |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger | Chicago | Philadelphia |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | Michigan | Chicago |
| 1942 | Frank Sinkwich | Georgia | Detroit |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | Notre Dame | Boston |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | Notre Dame | Detroit |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | Notre Dame | Green Bay |
| 1959 | Billy Cannon | LSU | L.A. Rams |
| 1961 | Ernie Davis | Syracuse | Washington |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State | L.A. Rams |
| 1969 | O.J. Simpson | USC | Buffalo |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett | Stanford | New England |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | Texas | Houston |
| 1978 | Billy Sims | Oklahoma | Detroit |
| 1980 | George Rogers | South Carolina | New Orleans |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson | Auburn | Tampa Bay |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde | Miami | Tampa Bay |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | USC | Cincinnati |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | Oklahoma | St. Louis |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | Auburn | Carolina |
| 2013 | Jameis Winston | Florida State | Tampa Bay |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield | Oklahoma | Cleveland |
| 2018 | Kyler Murray | Oklahoma | Arizona |
Burrow would be the fifth Heisman Trophy quarterback to be taken No. 1 in the NFL Draft and joins Newton and Winston as national championship quarterbacks at the next level. With that comes the pressure of being a franchise quarterback.
Joe Burrow mock draft: Bengals bound?
Cincinnati is the projected landing spot for Burrow in the 2020 NFL Draft despite a persisting narrative that the franchise will ruin the quarterback at the next level.
Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason won NFL MVP awards as Cincinnati’s starting quarterback, and Carson Palmer had a productive career after being drafted No. 1 in 2005. The Bengals also were more active in free agency than usual; a sign that they are willing to build around a new franchise quarterback.
MORE: Ranking every NFL No. 1 overall pick since 1970
Burrow at No. 1
Burrow likely will be the 25th quarterback taken No. 1 in the Super Bowl era. That’s a list that includes busts like JaMarcus Russell and Hall of Famers like Peyton Manning, and Burrow will face more pressure than ever.
He handled it at Athens High School, learned at Ohio State and burst on to the scene at LSU. The next part of the journey will come with even more pressure.
Burrow, however, seems more than equipped to handle it. Take it from Archie Manning, who watched Burrow up close the last two seasons at LSU.
"Joe checks all the boxes," Manning said. "I think to be successful in the National Football League, first of all you have to have a good cerebral approach to the game. Some get it. Some don't last. Joe gets it."
