Fall Camp Spotlight: Joe Burrow
8/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2016
Name: Joe Burrow
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-3
Weight: 218
Hometown: The Plains, Ohio
High School: Athens
2015 Statistics: Redshirted
by Chris Cullum, Ohio State Athletics Communications
With all the comings and goings in the world of Ohio State football and with all the new faces, it can be hard to keep track of who’s playing where.
One position that is not up for grabs is arguably the most important for any team: when the first whistle is blown September 3 and Ohio State lines up on offense for the first time, J.T. Barrett will be under center.
But what about the man behind him on the depth chart? Enter Joe Burrow.
A redshirt during the 2015 season, Burrow enters 2016 as the leading candidate to backup Barrett. A four-star prospect coming out of high school, the 2014 Mr. Football recipient in the state of Ohio quarterbacked his high school to all seven of its program’s postseason victories. The phrase “he knows how to win” comes to mind.
That being said, Burrow’s first win in the Scarlet and Gray won’t come on the field on a Saturday; he still needs to win that backup quarterback spot.
“Right now, Joe is the leader to back up Barrett,” co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck said. “But obviously we’re always evaluating and always working our guys.”
Despite the air of uncertainty surrounding this specific roster spot, Burrow has done everything in his power to secure it. This past spring head coach Urban Meyer acknowledged Burrow’s improved release, as well as noticeable improvement in his arm strength, though he did say he still had room to grow as a quarterback.
How does Burrow plan on accomplishing that growth?
“More reps, more studying, more everything,” he said. “I just need to keep getting better for the moment my number is called.”
Don’t even think about dismissing that last bit. That’s not wishful thinking on his part, waiting for the moment for his number to be called. There will come a time this season when he will be asked to take snaps for the Buckeyes. Last season six of the preseason top-10 teams in the country started a different quarterback in their last game compared to their first game. And it doesn’t even have to be that serious a situation when a back QB is called upon.
“You have to make sure who the backup quarterback is, just in case,” Barrett said. “There could be a game where something happens to me seriously, or my helmet comes off, or my shoelace gets undone.”
“It’s a backup’s job to be ready for anything that happens,” Burrow explained. “If I’m not ready then I’m not doing my job.”
Credit Burrow for taking his job seriously; it’s not always easy to devote as much time as he has all for a just-in-case. His preparation and dedication are things his position coach notices as well.
“He’s a real smart guy, real cool,” Beck said of Burrow. “I love that he’s a competitor. He hates losing and finds ways to make plays. That part of his game I’m really, really impressed with.”
While that part of his game came with him from high school, Burrow also credits the man in front of him on the depth chart for leading by example.
“How he goes about the game, how he studies film, how he takes notes, how he reads defenses — I take everything from him,” Burrow said of Barrett. “He’s a great mentor.”
There’s an undertone to everything he says that all comes back to being prepared, to needing to be better, to Burrow’s drive to succeed. It’s been there since the day he picked up a football; it was there when he received just a handful of Power Five offers coming out of high school; and it’s not leaving anytime soon.
“That’s how I’ve played my entire career,” Burrow said. “I’ve played with a chip on my shoulder about where I’m from, how I was recruited. I wasn’t highly recruited but I ended up here. I’ve always just played that way.”
We’re just nine days away from the season opener against Bowling Green September 3. Ready or not, Buckeye football is coming.
Joe Burrow will be ready.
