Do you recognize Joe Burrow in this photograph? He’s the one in the middle. As quarterback Joe took the LSU Tigers all the way to the national championship. He won the Heisman Trophy for the nation’s best college football player. This sounds like the culmination to a great college career, but it wasn’t! It was a Cinderella season. From High School to OSU to LSU The Cinderella Season: So what happened? How did Joe and No.6 LSU turn 2019 into a Cinderella season? This is my third try to tell this story. I hope it’s the charm. First up, Ranked Opponents: - No. 9 Texas went down 45- 38 on September 7th. LSU became No.4. - No.7 Florida lost 42-28 On October 12th. LSU moved up to No.2. - No. 9 Auburn lost 23-20 in LSU’s closest win on October 26th. LSU holds onto No.2. - No. 3 Alabama goes down 46-41 in the biggest game of the season. Alabama was predicted to win, Joe pulled it out, and LSU was NO. 1! A Single-Season of Records: - September 7th Joe passed for 471 yards in one game and takes over the No. 2 spot in LSU school history. - September 21st Joe sets 2 records. He throws 6 touchdowns and has his 3rd game with over 350 yards. - October 5th Joe has his 4th game with over 300 yards. It would have been 350, but he was 6 yards short. - October 19th he scores his 32nd touchdown in one season, an LSU record. - October 26th Joe has his 8th game with over 300 yards passing. - November 16th, he sets the single-season record for passing yards and another one for 17 completed passes in one game. - November 30th Joe sets the all-time single-season record for passing yards, and he ties for single-season touchdowns. All this from the quarterback who didn’t get an offer from Nebraska, the one who was passed over at OSU 3 times. Congratulations, Joe! Persistence pays off! The Road to the National Championship - First up, the SEC Championship on December 7th. No. 4 Georgia went down to the Tigers 37-10. LSU was still ranked No. 1. - On the 14th Joe won the Heisman Trophy for the best college player in America. - Next up, the Peach Bowl on December 28th. No. 1 LSU defeated No. 4 Oklahoma 63 – 28 in the 1st game of the National Championship. - Finally, on January 13th LSU defeated No. 3 Clemson 42-25 to win the National Championship. - Records, yes, please! 60 passing touchdowns for the FBS* single-season record. - 5,671 passing yards put Joe at third for all-time yards in an FBS* season. - A passer rating* of 202.0, the highest passing efficiency in one season. - This is a photo of Joe in the Oval Office. If you click on the link, you can see more photos of the LSU Tigers at the White House. Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/49400533066/ * FBS is the top level for college football. It used to be called Division 1-A. Either way, it’s the most competitive subdivision of college football It’s made up of the largest and most competitive schools in the NCAA. That’s a record! * Passer rating is a formula that includes attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes, and interceptions. Click on this link if you’d like to see the math: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passer_rating Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Burrow https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/louisiana-state/2019-schedule.html Up Next for Joe The NFL draft to be held April 23 – 25, in less than a month. Many predict he’ll go first to the Cincinnati Bengals, close to home and his parents. Where ever Joe goes, I think any team will be lucky to get him. When I look at him through my teacher/writer eyes . . . This is what I see: 1. Persistence – Joe never gave up. When Nebraska didn’t pick him, he chose Ohio State. When OSU didn’t start him at quarterback, he tried for 3 years before moving onto LSU. 2. Initiative – When OSU didn’t pick him his sophomore year, Joe started looking at other teams. In May of 2018 he announced he’d be going to LSU. 3. Smart – Joe graduated from OSU in 3 years with a degree in consumer and family financial services. Most people take 4-5 years to graduate. 4. Coachable/Trainable – Joe went from zero to starter in 3 short months at LSU. To do that, he had to be able to work with a new coach, work with new teammates. 5. Personable – Joe learned how to fit in with his teammates in those 3 short months. “There is no I in team.” A 10 and 3 season at OSU in 2018 would have been a failure. Instead Joe used the experience to build the relationships that took LSU to the national championship. Here’s what his OSU teammates had to say: 6. Leader - “Believe me when I say this because he was my roommate for two years,” Ohio State defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones said, “you’re getting a dog in Joe. Joe’s no slouch. He’s a leader. He’s gonna take over that huddle.” 7. Work Ethic – “LSU fans should be excited because they’re getting a warrior. A true warrior,” Ohio State receiver Parris Campbell said. “Many people didn’t get to see Joe before at the highest level, but we’ve seen Joe go to work every single day. He’s a guy who didn’t say a whole lot, but is just a down and dirty competitor. Just a warrior. From a Pair of Buckeyes: 8. Loyal – Joe never bad-mouthed the Buckeyes or Nebraska either, even when he was competing with them in the runup to that championship. When OSU played Clemson, he rooted for OSU. When Clemson won, he stil had good things to say about his old team. Me “Joe did about everything possible to win the starting position by the end of spring camp. “Do I wish he was still with us? I do,” Meyer said at Big Ten Media Days. “I love Joe Burrow. I love his family and have great respect for him. And that’s not going to stop. That relationship will continue for many years.” It says a lot about Urban, a lot about Joe. From his former coach, Urban Meyer 3 Quotes: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/lsu-football/one-got-away-burrow-osu-players-lsu-fans-burrow/ Why Write about Joe? He's an inspiration! Joe is somebody you can learn from whether you want to play football, write stories, or do anything else. My advice: compare his character to yourself. Capitalize on strengths. Pick a weakness or two and work on them. Joe wasn’t an overnight success. He worked to be successful. The same is true for you and me. Here’s to the journey of becoming your own personal best!
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AuthorWhen I write, I can only have one voice in my head, mine. A little noise is fine. But too much, or worse yet, WORDS, and I must change rooms or pull out headphones. Then I can write on! Categories
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