Joe Burrow: 'I wouldn't be the person I am today' without experience on the bench at Ohio State

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s rise to stardom happened so fast that his past is often forgotten about. Winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU in 2019, winning the 2020 National Championship and being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft the following year, and playing in Super Bowl LVI in 2021.

But before all of that Burrow spent the first three seasons of his college career at Ohio State, serving as a backup for the Buckeyes before transferring to LSU where his career would take off. Days that may be forgotten by some but are remembered vividly for the former Heisman Trophy.

Burrow recently joined the Pardon My Take podcast and was asked about his time in Columbus, with host Dan Katz (Big Cat) mentioning that Burrow’s perspective may be different if he had achieved immediate success at Ohio State.

“100%,” Burrow agreed. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today that’s for sure. I got to live the backup quarterback lifestyle back then and that was fun. Got that out of my system and then I was able to lock in.”

The backup quarterback lifestyle has been glamorized by many in the college football landscape. Tabbed with the position that’s the most important in the sport but without the same responsibilities as the starting quarterback, which often allows for a fair share of fun off the field.

“I mean it was pretty fun for a couple of years,” Burrow added. “I wouldn’t say I was super happy, but I did have fun I would say.”

After redshirting in his first season at Oho State, Burrow appeared in five games apiece in his next two seasons with the Buckeyes all off of the bench. Where he threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns in his 39 pass attempts before deciding to take his talents to Baton Rouge ahead of the 2018 season.

Burrow’s first season with LSU was solid, leading the Tigers to a 10-3 record behind 2,894 yards and 16 touchdown passes. But he took things to a different stratosphere in 2019 after throwing for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns in the team’s undefeated journey to a national title.

At the NFL level, Burrow has impressed in years where he’s been able to stay on the field for an entire season. Named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2021 after tearing his ACL and MCL in his rookie season followed by being named to his first Pro Bowl the following year in 2022.

This season Burrow is coming off of another injury after suffering from a torn ligament in his wrist that required surgery. But if his time at Ohio State taught him anything it was how to battle through adversity and trust the process, as he looks to lead the Bengals back to their playoff heights they achieved with him under center not too long ago.