Tilt of the cap to Joe Burrow. An inferior college is going to get a quarterback it doesn't deserve. It's also wild to think Burrow and Dwayne "Train" Haskins could be first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.
ICYMI:
- Joe Burrow announced he will transfer. Ohio State now stands one scholarship above the limit of 85.
- 12 potential landing spots for Burrow.
- LSU and Cincinnati reportedly granted permission to talk.
- Former teammates react.
- How Burrow's transfer affects Buckeye QB recruiting.
- Choo choooooooooooo.
- Anthony Gonzalez beat a sitting state representative in the hotly contest OH-16 GOP primary.
Word of the Day: Abscond.
A GROWN MAN DECISION. Even if Burrow didn't win the starting job, he would've only been one play away from starting. Urban Meyer's quarterbacks take hits, after all.
But Burrow also had a sideline seat to the debacle that was #QBgeddon1 and the fallout that occurred throughout a season in which neither quarterback looked comfortable despite being surrounded by future NFL talent.
Burrow made the best decision for himself and saved Ohio State from the same fate.
From Doug Lesmerises of cleveland.com:
It's easy to remember that a backup quarterback saved Ohio State in 2014 and helped earn a national championship. It's easy to forget that a backup quarterback may have cost Ohio State a title in 2015.
As much as the presence of Cardale Jones, backing up J.T. Barrett backing up Braxton Miller, proved a godsend in 2014, the presence of both Jones and Barrett in 2015 knocked an even more talented team off stride.
If the Buckeyes had only Jones in 2015, Meyer couldn't have benched him after the third series against Hawaii in Week 2 and would have been more likely to fit an offense around a thrower who was the only option.
A quarterback having to look over to the sidelines after every errant throw isn't a recipe for success. And fans would have been clamoring for Burrow as soon as Haskins played a subpar quarter.
The silver lining is that is no longer an option, which isn't an insignificant prize.
NEBRASKA COULD'VE ALREADY HAD BURROW. Burrow's family connections to Nebraska seemed to make the Huskers a preeminent favorite in his recruitment. Unfortunately for them, they were too busy ousting Bo Pelini and installing Mike Riley.
An offer never came.
I always wondered why Nebraska wasnt a bigger player for Joe Burrow this first time around. Heres what his dad told me about that last fall. pic.twitter.com/xc29l39N15
— Nick Piotrowicz (@NickPiotrowicz) May 8, 2018
Burrow actually dodged a bullet there, as Mike Riley certainly wasn't rolling competent quarterbacks off an assembly line in Lincoln.
Maybe Scott Frost could've resurrected him. But it looks like we'll never know, as Frost hasn't shown new interest after post-spring game comments signaling he's content with rolling with what he has.
My two favorites to land Burrow are LSU and Iowa State. Baton Rouge is a lot closer to the beacon of light that is New Orleans. Iowa State has competent quarterback coaching. It will be a tossup.
(For those saying Florida, as I once did: Dan Mullen showed no interest yesterday after learning of Burrow's departure.)
THE PRINCE THAT WAS PROMISED. To me, the quarterback derby was over when Urban Meyer linked arms with Dwayne Haskins during Carmen Ohio after the spring game.
That's because a shark like Meyer recognizes a cold-blooded, cerebral talent. Remember, trains can't feel pressure:
I respected the Burrow militia. They were honorable. What need unity now and to rally around the Dwayne Train.
The other winner in this is Tate Martell. I wasn't sure if Meyer was bluffing him about including him in special packages just to keep him engaged. Now I believe it.
The Train & Tate Tandem (aka the TRIPLE T EXPRESS) could be an unstoppable hydra if deployed correctly. Emphasis on the word if.
PITCOCK WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME. Video game addiction derailed former Ohio State defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock's NFL career. Had he been born a decade later, he may be the first professional gamer to moonlight as an NFL player.
He expressed his frustrations last night on Facebook:
Sorry, Quinn, but all gamers should be in prison regardless of their worldwide rank. The world would be a better place if they were forced to read books instead.
NEED OSU KNOWLEDGE? GO TO UPENN. Libraries are always humbling experiences because they show that you only know, at best, like .03% of things to know.
And there are always rare finds. Always. For example, you can read an entire anthology of Ohio State history in the stacks of the University of Pennsylvania.
Via a friend of MarionTMZ:
Why are they there? What patriot placed them there? Who was the last UPenn scholar to read these sacred tomes?
Unfortunately only the gods know those answers.
THOSE WMDs. This was supposed to be the Raptors' year... Columbus Ale Trail not slowing down in fourth year... Russian hackers pose as IS to threaten military wives... Worst job in America: Responding to irate tweets from New York City subway riders... How Google got media companies addicted... Why do trains no longer have cabooses?
