His first drive ended unceremoniously, enduring a pair of sacks, a fumble and a drop from one of his receivers. After three quick plays, Cameron Johnston trotted out to punt the ball into the brilliant blue Columbus sky.
Then, Joe Burrow showed up.
"Joe Burrow has been coming on," Urban Meyer said after Gray beat Scarlet 28-17 in Ohio State's spring game Saturday. "He was a guy that last year I had my concerns, just arm strength to release, twitch, ability to run the ball, because you have to do that.
"He's gotten better and better."
Burrow's day Saturday was a microcosm of that last sentence. He struggled in the opening quarter while the scarlet team took a 3-0 lead, but then bounced back with a pair of touchdown passes to fellow redshirt freshman Torrance Gibson. Couple that with an 82-yard interception return by Malik Hooker and the Gray snatched a lead it wouldn't give back.
"I was a lot more comfortable in the second quarter," Burrow said. "The receivers and I, we got going a little bit, Antonio Williams started running pretty hard and our offensive line starting clicking in the second quarter."
Burrow battled with Stephen Collier for the responsibility to back up returning starter J.T. Barrett at quarterback, but proved why he is the unquestioned No. 2 in Columbus on Saturday.
His stat line finished as such: 14-of-23 passing for 196 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, plus 31 yards rushing on 11 attempts. Altogether, it helped Burrow prove to himself he belongs in such a high pressure place that demands excellence like Ohio State.
“I thought I took a little step forward, but I still have a long way to go and I’m going to work really hard this summer to get where I need to be to be the backup at Ohio State.”– Joe Burrow
"What I got out of it is I know I can play here now," Burrow said. "And I know what I need to get to be the starting quarterback and what I need to do to be the backup this season."
Hailing from Athens High School in southeast Ohio, Burrow grew up setting outrageous passing marks and playing in state title games against competition from smaller high schools. Taking a jump to Ohio State isn't easy for anyone in that situation, but Burrow appears like he is in the right place after a redshirt season.
"I thought I took a little step forward, but I still have a long way to go and I’m going to work really hard this summer to get where I need to be to be the backup at Ohio State," Burrow said.
Barrett battled with Cardale Jones for the starting quarterback job at Ohio State for the majority of the 2015 season, but everyone there wasn't much of a chance someone else would take snaps at the position. Collier did briefly in mop up duty late in one game as Burrow stood and watched, but never he belonged at Ohio State.
"I didn’t, but I think a lot of people did and I think I showed that I can play here to all our coaching staff and all the players on our team," Burrow said.
Quarterbacks can be their own hardest critics, especially when you're behind a guy that finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting and won the 2014 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award. On top of that, Barrett and Burrow share the same first name, though the former uses his first and middle initials. Barrett calls Burrow 'John,' however, because "you can't have more than one Joe in the quarterback room."
"I think John did really good," Barrett said of Burrow's performance Saturday. "I think throwing down the field he did a good job, put it in a good place, think Terry (McLaurin) dropped that one. But he put it in a good spot. He's playing fast and once you get that first play and the jitters out of you get a little comfortable and I think he did that."
Burrow showed the touch and accuracy he displayed at Athens and an improvement of arm strength. He also cemented himself as the No. 2 quarterback in Columbus, a position Meyer put up for grabs after reeling in four-star recruit Dwayne Haskins from Maryland.
Burrow also showed he's fully capable of taking over for Barrett if he is unable to go for whatever reason in 2016, and eventually when he leaves the program.
"I feel like I might get a chance this year and I have to be prepared to be the starter at any point," Burrow said. "J.T. could go down like that so I’m going to prepare and be the starter."
