Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American quarterback who plays for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals. He started his college career as a backup quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, before transferring to Louisiana State University (LSU). During his senior year at LSU, he passed for over 5,600 yards and 60 touchdowns, and was awarded the Heisman Trophy. He also led the Tigers to an undefeated season and College Football National Championship.

After college, he was drafted first overall by the Bengals in 2020.

Early life
Joseph Lee Burrow was born in Ames, Iowa on December 10, 1996, the son of Robin and Jim Burrow. Jim is a former football player and coach whose career lasted over 40 years. Burrow was born in Ames when his father was on the staff for the Iowa State Cyclones. Joe's family is notably involved in sports. According to a 2019 Sports Illustrated story, "the Burrow athletic lineage dates back nearly a century."

From 2011–2014, Burrow attended Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio, leading the school to three straight playoff appearances and the school's first seven playoff victories in school history. During his high school career, he passed for 11,416 yards and 157 touchdowns, while also rushing for 2,067 yards with 27 rushing touchdowns. He was awarded the state's Mr. Football Award and Gatorade Player of the Year award as a senior in 2014. He and his Bulldog teammates went 14–1 that season. During high school, Burrow also played basketball at a high level and was named first-team all-state at point guard his senior year. Burrow was rated as a four-star football recruit, and was the eighth-highest ranked dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2015 according to the 247SportsmComposite. On May 27, 2014, he committed to Ohio State University to play football for the Buckeyes.

College career

Ohio State (2015–2017)
Joe Burrow played college football at Ohio State University for the Buckeyes. He was a redshirt freshman in 2015, meaning he did not play his first year of college. He was then a backup to J. T. Barrett for the next two years. During that time, he played in 10 games, completing 29-of-39 pass attempts for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Dwayne Haskins was then named the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes. Because of this, Burrow decided to transfer to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play for the Tigers. Burrow graduated from Ohio State in three years with a degree in consumer and family financial services, and would be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.

LSU (2018–2019)

In his first year as a Tiger, in 2018, Burrow was named the starter as a redshirt junior. He earned 2 SEC Player of the Week honors during the season. The Tigers finished the season with a 10–3 record. Burrow has 2,894 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns to 5 interceptions. While rushing the football, Burrow had 399 yards and 7 touchdowns.

The following season, Burrow had what many sportswriters and football experts described as the best season by a college quarterback. In a blowout win against Texas A&M, Burrow set the single-season Southeastern Conference (SEC) record in passing yards and tied the single-season record for passing touchdowns. The following week, Burrow led the Tigers to a 37–10 win in the SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs, securing the Tigers' place in the College Football Playoff. He was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and during the win, Burrow set the single-season SEC record for passing touchdowns. Later, on December 14, 2019, Burrow was awarded the 2019 Heisman Trophy, winning the award by a record-margin of votes.

In the playoff semifinal game at the 2019 Peach Bowl, Burrow led the Tigers to a 63–28 win over the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. In the win, Burrow completed 29-of-39 pass attempts for 493 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns, to go along with five rushes for 22 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Burrow's eight total touchdowns were an FBS bowl game record and SEC single game record, and were recorded in just over one half of play before Burrow was rested. Analysts have called Burrow's performance one of the greatest in college football history. 

In the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Clemson, Burrow threw for 463 yards and five passing touchdowns. Burrow also ran for a touchdown in the game and was named the game's offensive MVP, as he led LSU to a 42–25 victory.  With the win, LSU finished with an undefeated 15–0 season.

He finished his 2019 season with 60 passing touchdowns, which set the single-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record. Burrow's record has since been passed by Bailey Zappe of Western Kentucky, who threw for 62 touchdowns in 2021. Burrow also set a new FBS single-season record in combined passing and rushing touchdowns, with 65. Zappe tied this record in 2021. Burrow also finished the year with 5,671 passing yards, which is tied for fourth all-time in an FBS season. His passer rating of 202 for the season was also a record until it was surpassed by Mac Jones in 2020.

Statistics

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals (2020–present)

Pre-Draft
After his first year at LSU, Burrow was not expected to be a first-round NFL Draft pick. However, after his senior season, Burrow became the heavy favorite to be picked first overall. A Draft Network analysis of Burrow's skill set before the draft complimented Burrow for his "elite football intelligence," but stated Burrow doesn't have "elite arm strength and throwing power." Their final evaluation stated:
Coming off the greatest season in SEC quarterback history, Joe Burrow features a high-level skill set with the makeup of being a dynamic franchise quarterback. His blend of accuracy, ability to handle pressure, mechanics and mental processing skills are all bluechip traits that make him NFL ready in Year One. Burrow may lack elite throwing power, but it's a minor knock in an overall impressive package.

2020

The Cincinnati Bengals would indeed draft Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Burrow signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $36.1 million, on July 31, 2020. During the off-season and the preseason, Burrow was thought to be the favorite to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Burrow was the only rookie quarterback from his draft class to start in the first week of the 2020 season. In his first game, Burrow threw for 193 passing yards and an interception, and rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown in a 16–13 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. In their next game, the Bengals went against the Cleveland Browns. In the game, Burrow threw his first career passing touchdown, a 23-yard pass to tight end C. J. Uzomah. The Bengals lost the game 35–30, but Burrow set an NFL rookie record for pass completions, with 37. In Week 4 of the season, Burrow earned his first career win as he led the Bengals over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was also his third straight game throwing for 300 or more passing yards, making him the first rookie quarterback to do so.

In the second half of a Week 11 game against the Washington Football Team, Burrow was hit while throwing a pass. This caused tears to his ACL and MCL in his left knee, among other damage to his PCL and meniscus. He was later placed on injured reserve, ending his rookie season. Even while injured, Burrow was noted to continue preparing for games by watching game film. He finished his rookie season with a 2–7–1 record as a starter, 2,688 passing yards, and 13 passing touchdowns to 5 interceptions. He also rushed for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns during the season.

2021
In Week 4, Burrow completed 25-of-32 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–21 win over the Jaguars. His performance earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Against the division rival Baltimore Ravens in Week 16, Burrow completed 37-of-46 passes as he threw for a career-high and franchise record 525 passing yards. Burrow also threw for four touchdowns and finished the game with a career-high 143.2 passer rating, as his strong performance in the game helped the Bengals win 41–21. 

During the season, Burrow's play was noted by football coaches and sportswriters as being impressive and having improved greatly. In December 2021, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote:
The best areas of Burrow's game in college are becoming his standout traits in the NFL. In 2019, Burrow impressed the Bengals with his competitiveness, his football IQ, his accuracy, his ability to move in the pocket and his ability to make plays outside of the pocket. For every quality the coaching staff saw on Burrow's college tape, there's a throw from the last month that highlights it.

The Bengals finished the regular season with a 10–7 record. They also finished as the winners of their AFC North Division. Burrow finished the regular season completing a league-leading 70.4% of his passes. He had 366 pass completions on 520 attempts for 4,611 yards. His 8.9 yards per pass attempt also led the league. Burrow threw 34 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and finished with a 108.3 passer rating.

He led the Bengals to their first playoff appearance since 2015. In the playoffs, Burrow helped the Bengals defeat the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card Round. This was the Bengals' first playoff win since 1990. The next weekend, Burrow led the Bengals to a road win over the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This win marked the first road win in Bengals franchise history.

NFL career statistics

Records and achievements
Bengals franchise records
Most passing yards, game: 525
Highest completion percentage, career (min. 500 pass attempts): 67.8%
Highest passer rating, career (min. 500 pass attempts): 98.1

Personal life
After signing his rookie contract with the Bengals, Burrow stated that he planned to save all of his contract money and instead live through income received from endorsements. Burrow has been reported to be dating Olivia Holzmacher, who also went to Ohio State.

References

Other websites 

 
 Joe Burrow at Heisman.com
 Cincinnati Bengals profile
 LSU Tigers profile

1996 births
American football quarterbacks
Cincinnati Bengals players
Heisman Trophy winners
Living people
Sportspeople from Iowa
Sportspeople from Ohio