The Joe Bureau: Q&A with Land Grant Holy Land

Geoff Hammersly of Land Grant Holy Land gives us some background on our new Tiger quarterback.

By Billy Gomila@ATVS_ChefBilly May 19, 2018, 8:28am CDT

NCAA Football: Bowling Green at Ohio State

1. We know the general story here — Burrow couldn’t beat out J.T. Barrett or Dwayne Haskins, and wants to start somewhere. But how good is he really?

We haven’t seen a lot of Burrow in games, but his numbers are respectable (29/39, 74.4% completion, 287 yards, 2 TDs). He can throw the ball, and I think if he has a decent group of wideouts, then he has the potential to become a star QB. In J.T. Barrett’s first year, he had Devin Smith and Michael Thomas on the WR corps; if LSU can get that kind of talent, then I believe Burrow can have LSU in the title hunt in November.

2. Most of what we’ve seen involves him performing well in spring games. What would you say to a skeptic here?

Going into the start of last season, Burrow was the No. 2 guy behind Barrett. Then the broken bone in his throwing hand occurred around the start of last season, leading to Haskins getting the bump into the interim QB role when Barrett went down against Michigan. If that injury to Burrow didn’t occur, then I think he’s still at OSU. The fact that a bunch of schools have jumped on the radar for the Burrow sweepstakes proves that he has something to offer.

3. If Burrow were to stay at Ohio State, what would his role be?

If he stayed at OSU, then I think another Cardale Jones/J.T. Barrett QB battle would’ve occurred over the course of the season. Throw in Tate Martell, there’s conceivably three starting QBs for a big time program on the same squad.

4. How would you describe his game overall?

Burrow can make throws, but in the equation at OSU, Haskins had the better arm. That’s not to say Burrow isn’t good — Haskins made the bullet passes and tight-window throws in his “audition” for the QB job against Michigan last season. I haven’t seen enough of Burrow to know how he’d respond to an SEC-esque defense. I don’t know how he’d do in a third-and-12 situation with a blitz breathing down his neck. But if he could be in the running for the starting job at Ohio State, then he certainly has some intangibles.