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Joe Burrow breathed new life into the Cincinnati Bengals, leading the Ohio team to the Super Bowl in his second year as the starting quarterback. After winning the national championship with LSU, Burrow was drafted No. 1 overall in 2020 and got off to a hot start in his rookie season before a knee injury in Week 11 cut his season short.
Being a little media-shy, Burrow doesn't do many interviews, but he recently appeared on the Full Send Podcast and talked about his college career, his time in the NFL, and his early years playing multiple sports in high school.
Burrow said:
"Yeah, like basketball is my favorite sport. I almost quit football to play basketball because I was starting point guard my freshman year in high school and varsity basketball. And I was playing freshman football. And so I was kind of starting to lean towards basketball. And then ,Well, all of a sudden, I had this awesome sophomore season in football, and I was like, I'm pretty good at this football thing. I might as well focus on this."
Luckily, for both LSU and the Cincinnati Bengals, Burrow chose to pursue a career in football. The quarterback's addition to the Bengals, along with that of Ja'Marr Chase the following year, made a team that hasn't been consistently relevant since the Boomer Esiason years a contender once again.
Joe Burrow's choice to stick with football and later transfer to LSU paid off with NFL starting job
Burrow spoke a lot about his days at Ohio State, particularly his competitive relationship with late NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins and his experience with then-head coach Urban Meyer. After it became clear he would ride the bench behind Haskins, Burrow sought a transfer that would bring him a starting job and a chance to prove himself as an NFL-ready quarterback.
The Bengals were impressed by his college career. In his second pro season, Burrow led the team to two impressive wins over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last season, one of which was a thrilling overtime win that sent the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
Though their season ended in disappointment, Burrow and the Bengals look to make a return to the playoffs and make another run at a championship ring.
