What If No Starter Is Named? Joe Burrow Isn’t Sure
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:52 pm
From the OZONE:
Burrow in QB limbo ?
After Ohio State’s spring game, quarterback Joe Burrow was peppered with what-if scenarios. Reporters were trying to get a feel for any slight direction he could be leaning.
As a soon-to-be Ohio State graduate, Burrow has options that most players do not have. He can leave OSU following graduation and be eligible to play somewhere else this season.
Since the Big Ten Championship Game last December, Burrow has stated that he would have a decision to make following spring football. He wants to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. If that can’t happen, however, then he wants to be a starting quarterback somewhere.
Just as third-year running back Antonio Williams announced his intentions to transfer in order to find playing time, Burrow could do the same if he’s not comfortable with his standing.
Earlier in the spring, Urban Meyer said that he hoped to have a decision at the quarterback position for both the team’s benefit and Burrow’s benefit. As of last week, however, no decision had been made by Meyer or his offensive coordinators.
With his options open, the question arises whether he would have to be named the starter or simply have nobody named the starter yet.
“That would be a discussion in the meetings that we have,” Burrow said. “I’m not sure yet. Again, I’m happy with how I played and I’m happy with how the situation was handled this spring.”
And what happens if no decision can be made because things are too close to call?
“I would have to have conversations with my family and still my coaches and my friends that I’m close to and I would have to make a decision,” he said.
Burrow — and fellow quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell — made the most of the competition this spring. He believes it has made him a better quarterback having gone through such a hotly-contested spring camp.
“Absolutely it has,” he said. “It’s really been tough on us to stay close as friends and as quarterbacks. I think I’ve grown as a person. I definitely think that the competition has brought out the best in me as a player.”
Burrow isn’t the only one who has seen his growth as a quarterback.
“Joe has gone from — he has to be one of the most improved quarterbacks as far as delivery speed and arm,” Meyer said. “He’s always been a very smart, tough guy and a very good leader, but his improvement is very notable over the last, really couple of years. That started a couple years ago. You see the ball coming out much faster.”
The increase in arm strength certainly helps in a competition against somebody like Haskins. Burrow has closed the gap in that regard, and he believes his leadership, intangibles, and toughness may ultimately separate him in this competition.
“I think if they were to go with me, that would be the area that put me over the top,” he said. “Obviously, Dwayne has an arm that you don’t see a lot. I have a pretty darn good arm too, but I think my leadership and my intangibles really came alive this spring.”
Transfer talk surrounded Burrow before he acknowledged the possibilities last December. He has heard it for years. He is hoping to prove each of his doubters wrong. He understands, however, that only one quarterback is going to play, and the decision is not going to be easy.
“I’ve heard for three years that I’m never gonna play here and I’m going to end up transferring,” he said. “I’m ‘not good enough to play here.’ I just sit back and put my nose to the grindstone and work. That’s what I’ve done for three years and I think I’ve come a long way.
“But that’s the nature of the quarterback position. You can only have one guy play. You can be a really good quarterback and still sit on the bench.”
https://theozone.net/2018/04/no-starter ... -not-sure/
Burrow in QB limbo ?
After Ohio State’s spring game, quarterback Joe Burrow was peppered with what-if scenarios. Reporters were trying to get a feel for any slight direction he could be leaning.
As a soon-to-be Ohio State graduate, Burrow has options that most players do not have. He can leave OSU following graduation and be eligible to play somewhere else this season.
Since the Big Ten Championship Game last December, Burrow has stated that he would have a decision to make following spring football. He wants to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. If that can’t happen, however, then he wants to be a starting quarterback somewhere.
Just as third-year running back Antonio Williams announced his intentions to transfer in order to find playing time, Burrow could do the same if he’s not comfortable with his standing.
Earlier in the spring, Urban Meyer said that he hoped to have a decision at the quarterback position for both the team’s benefit and Burrow’s benefit. As of last week, however, no decision had been made by Meyer or his offensive coordinators.
With his options open, the question arises whether he would have to be named the starter or simply have nobody named the starter yet.
“That would be a discussion in the meetings that we have,” Burrow said. “I’m not sure yet. Again, I’m happy with how I played and I’m happy with how the situation was handled this spring.”
And what happens if no decision can be made because things are too close to call?
“I would have to have conversations with my family and still my coaches and my friends that I’m close to and I would have to make a decision,” he said.
Burrow — and fellow quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell — made the most of the competition this spring. He believes it has made him a better quarterback having gone through such a hotly-contested spring camp.
“Absolutely it has,” he said. “It’s really been tough on us to stay close as friends and as quarterbacks. I think I’ve grown as a person. I definitely think that the competition has brought out the best in me as a player.”
Burrow isn’t the only one who has seen his growth as a quarterback.
“Joe has gone from — he has to be one of the most improved quarterbacks as far as delivery speed and arm,” Meyer said. “He’s always been a very smart, tough guy and a very good leader, but his improvement is very notable over the last, really couple of years. That started a couple years ago. You see the ball coming out much faster.”
The increase in arm strength certainly helps in a competition against somebody like Haskins. Burrow has closed the gap in that regard, and he believes his leadership, intangibles, and toughness may ultimately separate him in this competition.
“I think if they were to go with me, that would be the area that put me over the top,” he said. “Obviously, Dwayne has an arm that you don’t see a lot. I have a pretty darn good arm too, but I think my leadership and my intangibles really came alive this spring.”
Transfer talk surrounded Burrow before he acknowledged the possibilities last December. He has heard it for years. He is hoping to prove each of his doubters wrong. He understands, however, that only one quarterback is going to play, and the decision is not going to be easy.
“I’ve heard for three years that I’m never gonna play here and I’m going to end up transferring,” he said. “I’m ‘not good enough to play here.’ I just sit back and put my nose to the grindstone and work. That’s what I’ve done for three years and I think I’ve come a long way.
“But that’s the nature of the quarterback position. You can only have one guy play. You can be a really good quarterback and still sit on the bench.”
https://theozone.net/2018/04/no-starter ... -not-sure/