Former Ohio State and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
🚨 IT'S REAL 🚨
Welcome Home, @Joe_Burrow10#SeizeTheDEY | @Bose pic.twitter.com/qnauCnpOWI
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 24, 2020
Burrow came to Ohio State as a four-star prospect from The Plains (Ohio) Athens, but never started a game as the primary backup to J.T. Barrett. He appeared in 11 games over the course of three season, completing 29 of 39 pass attempts for two touchdowns and zero interceptions and rushed for 53 yards and one score on 15 carries in mop-up duty.
The spring prior to his redshirt junior season, Burrow competed with Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback. Haskins was named the starter shortly after the spring game, however, and Burrow subsequently announced his intentions to transfer to LSU with two years of eligibility remaining after graduating with a degree in consumer and family financial services.
Burrow helped the Tigers to a 10-3 record in his first season as a starter, which included a win over previously undefeated UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. He threw for 2,894 yards and 16 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions, and rushed for 399 yards and seven scores.
Burrow then took his game to another level during his final season in Baton Rouge, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading LSU to a win over Clemson in the College Football National Championship Game. He threw for a nation-best 5,671 yards and an FBS single-season record 60 touchdowns, and received a whopping 93.8 percent of the possible points in the Heisman voting, breaking the record set by former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith (91.6 percent) in 2006.
Haskins was taken by the Washington Redskins with the 15th overall pick in 2019, so Burrow’s selection technically gives the Buckeyes a first-round quarterback in two straight drafts.
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