Burrow did not want to be a quarterback

Joe Burrow didn’t want to be a quarterback.

When the Cincinnati Bengals’ star quarterback started soccer as a junior, he thought that, because there wasn’t a lot of passing at that level, he would get more action and contact as a wide receiver.

“I didn’t choose [the quarterback position],” Burrow stated. “I came to my first junior practice and the coach at the time, Coach Sam Smathers who I still see all the time when I go home, basically asked me if I wanted to be a quarterback, and I said, ‘No, not really.’ But then he said, ‘Well, you’re going to be quarterback. That’s too bad.'”

Smathers doesn’t specifically remember forcing Burrow to play quarterback in his Wing-T offense, but he could have. However, it was an obvious decision, especially after he discovered that little Joey was the son of Jimmy Burrow, who was then the defensive coordinator under Frank Solich at Ohio University.

“We had a couple of other kids who were older and could play the position, but the soccer knowledge and intelligence I noticed in him at that age was pretty amazing,” said Smathers, 56, who lives across the street from the high school soccer field in Athens that has been renamed Joe Burrow Stadium. “Then I found out who his father was. Coming from a soccer family like that, I could understand where he gets it from.

“He could remember plays, the timing was easy for him, then we found out he could throw the ball really well. That’s basically how it started, he had good soccer smarts even in third grade.”

Good decision. Burrow ended up leading Athens High School–two and a half hours from Cincinnati–to a state championship game in 2014, throwing six touchdown passes in a 56-52 loss to Toledo Central Catholic. He won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship at LSU before becoming the first overall pick in the draft in 2020. In his second NFL season, he has the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

Unlike Super Bowl-winning brothers Peyton and Eli Manning who were groomed by their father Archie to be quarterbacks from the moment they could grab a soccer, Burrow, 25, started out wanting to play a position that required more determination and contact. He liked defense, too, playing corner in high school as much as his protective coach would allow.

After suffering a gruesome knee injury in his rookie season with the Bengals, Burrow got back into a rhythm in 2021. He broke franchise records by completing more than 70 percent of his regular-season passes for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. He made critical plays in Cincinnati’s three dramatic playoff victories.

“Obviously, I’m glad it worked out that way,” Burrow noted. “This is my career. I don’t know if I’d be a wide receiver in the NFL. That’s probably a pipe dream. But I can play very well at quarterback.

“And I think my favorite part about playing quarterback, there are great players at every position in the NFL, but I think only a few really affect the game dramatically. And I think quarterback is the only position on the field that can really affect the game on every play. I like having the ball in my hands on every play and being able to win or lose with me.”

Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd said he’s glad Burrow found his way at quarterback, but believes the Cincinnati star probably would have been a serviceable receiver.

“To me, being the quarterback is being the best player on the field that they have to worry about most things,” Boyd referenced. “They have to diagnose the most information and they have to help others line up or tell them what to do when they have a problem remembering it or don’t know what’s going on. So I applaud anybody for playing quarterback, but I think Joe could deliver as a receiver.”