Former Ohio State and current Bengals QB Joe Burrow makes a bold statement about his time as a Buckeye

There was once a time when quarterback Joe Burrow was a former four-star recruit who was in the transfer portal looking for the next opportunity where he could get on the football field. Looking at where he is now, it is wild to think that was the case for one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

Burrow played sparingly in 2016 and 2017 for the Buckeyes, mainly in a mop-up duty role where the Buckeyes had the game decided. Burrow did not win the starting job heading into the 2018 season and the keys were given to the late Dwayne Haskins Jr.

Burrow transferred to LSU and the rest was history from there. He became a National Champion, Heisman Trophy winner, and No. 1 overall pick while with the Tigers. Still, Burrow will always be tied to Columbus due to his time as a Buckeye.

The Bengals’ starting quarterback appeared on The Pivot podcast and opened up about his time in Columbus. By no means was it easy sitting on the bench, especially when you’re putting the work in to be the guy.

"I was like, ‘Do I have a warped sense of myself and how I’m playing or what kind of quarterback I am.’ That was definitely tough those three and half years,” Burrow explained. “I had so much confidence in the work that I was putting in off the field and the growth that I was having, but I felt like not too many people had confidence in me at that point."

Burrow completed 22-of-26 passes in 2016 for 226 yards with two touchdowns as well. That was throughout six games that he appeared in. During the 2017 season, Burrow threw just 11 passes.

"Yeah, I mean at Ohio State I was definitely questioning myself, because I thought, ‘I’m working so hard in the weight room, I’m playing really well in practice’, and I felt like nobody was really taking notice of that, or seeing the improvement or how I was playing in practice."

In 2018, Burrow got his feet underneath him at LSU with 2,894 passing yards and 16 touchdowns to five interceptions. It was the 2019 season where Burrow exploded into what made him a No. 1 overall pick. Burrow threw off 60 touchdowns to just six interceptions in 15 games for the Tigers that season. It was as social of a college season as we may ever see.

Looking back at his college time, Burrow made the right decision to leave and go to LSU where he could get on the field. By no means was it easy and it is easy to see that by Burrow talking about how he felt defeated despite all the work he was putting in. Overall, most of Buckeye Nation still pulls for Burrow, who is about to embark on season No. 5 in the NFL.

Related: Ohio State takes a loss off of the football field that Ryan Day has to wish was a different outcome