Of all of the offseason roster moves, this one ranks right up there as arguably the least surprising.
In seeking a replacement for J.T. Barrett, Ohio State’s quarterback competition consisted of three players this spring -- Joe Burrow, Tate Martell and Dwayne Haskins. Throughout the process, Haskins has been considered the favorite to replace Barrett, leading to significant speculation that Burrow could be the odd man out and opt to leave the Buckeyes.
Over the weekend, the quarterback’s father, Jimmy Burrow, an assistant on Frank Solich‘s Ohio University coaching staff, posted an interesting and illuminating tweet after watching his son graduate from OSU.
Proud of Joe . On to the next challenge . pic.twitter.com/FUyplQhbRF
— Jimmy Burrow (@CoachBurrow) May 6, 2018
On his own Twitter account Tuesday morning, Joe Burrow confirmed that his next challenge will be finding a new football home as he has decided to leave OSU and transfer elsewhere. Burrow stated he made the move "[a]fter weeks of struggling with this decision.”
After weeks of struggling with this decision, I have decided to leave Ohio State and explore other options. My teammates and coaches all know the love I feel for them. I will decide where I will play next year in the coming weeks.
— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) May 8, 2018
Not only will Burrow be eligible to play immediately at another FBS school (LSU? Florida?) as a graduate transfer, but his new school will be getting the quarterback for both 2018 and 2019 as the redshirt junior has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Burrow was a four-star 2015 signee who was rated as the No. 8 dual-threat quarterback in the country. As Barrett’s primary backup in 2016, Burrow completed 22 of his 28 pass attempts for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was the favorite to hold on to that job in 2017 as well before he was sidelined with a broken bone in his right (throwing) hand.
With Burrow sidelined for the first month of the season, Haskins took over as the No. 2 quarterback behind Barrett. Haskins completed 40 of his 57 pass attempts for 565 yards and four touchdowns in eight games last season, including a memorable relief appearance in yet another win over rival Michigan. The performance in The Game helped solidify Haskins as the favorite to replace Barrett heading into the offseason.
Good luck to you brotha! Appreciate you for making me better, see you at the top 🙏 https://t.co/aGUS8WpGE8
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) May 8, 2018