Not surprisingly, there’s already a brisk market for a newly-minted graduate transfer.
Very early Tuesday afternoon, Joe Burrow announced that, as many had expected, he had decided to transfer from Ohio State. Almost immediately, schools such as LSU and Florida, among others, were attached to the graduate transfer quarterback.
In the hours after the announcement was made official, SI.com reported that LSU, as well as Cincinnati, have been granted permission to speak to Burrow. Another report has Arizona State, Arkansas and Wyoming as schools that have already shown some level of interest.
Burrow graduated from OSU this past weekend, which would give him immediate eligibility at any FBS program. Even better for his new school, Burrow will have two years of eligibility at his disposal that he can use in 2018 and 2019.
Burrow was a four-star member of OSU’s 2015 recruiting class who was rated as the No. 8 dual-threat quarterback in the country. As J.T. 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, Dwayne 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.
Burrow’s transfer presumably leaves Haskins as the Buckeyes’ starter and redshirt freshman Tate Martell, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2017, as the primary backup.