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| Steve Spurrier (left) was one of the Heisman Trophy winners standing behind Joe Burrow when the LSU QB accepted his award in December 2019. |
Maybe even Spurrier -- never bashful -- would laugh at the quarterback comparison. Yes, both are Heisman Trophy winners (Spurrier 1966, Burrow 2019), but in complete different eras of football. Spurrier loved the passing game even in 1964-66 as Florida's starting QB, but in that era, the passing game was so limited.
He was a good enough passer -- and a leader, and kicker -- to be a first-round NFL Draft pick. Burrow likely will be the first player to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Spurrier is partisan still to the Gators he coached into a national power for 12 years and also to South Carolina, where he coached for 10 1/2 years. But we have to believe that he loved this LSU passing game and its quarterback (even if he was rooting for Florida on October 12 (Tigers 42, Gators 28).
This is what I believe is the main common bond for Spurrier and Burrow: Both are total winners.
They both have national-championship credentials -- Spurrier in 1996 as The Old Ball Coach, director/designer of Florida's sensational passing game; Burrow in 2019 as the leader of LSU's best-in-history offense.
Both honest, maybe too much so for some people. Brash -- Spurrier with his words, his biting "fun"; Burrow with his actions -- waving bye-bye to Texas fans, his "show the money" gestures, his pointing-to-the-ring-finger display Monday night.
Spurrier, in his Florida association, was as much of a nemesis for LSU as Nick Saban has been as Alabama coach.
Steve Superior, as the Gators' QB, was 3-0 vs. LSU in 1964-65-66. As Florida head coach (1990-2001), he was 11-1 vs. LSU, and most of those games were not close.
LSU's only victory was in 1997 -- 28-21 -- when Florida was the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 again, and after that upset, LSU running back Kevin Faulk was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
But Spurrier this week was on LSU's side.
He told 247Sports, prior to the national-championship game: "... They [LSU and Clemson] both know how to win. They aren't going to beat themselves. Both teams have excellent quarterbacks. As an SEC guy, I have to sort of pull for LSU.
"Joe Burrow -- I got to know him a little bit during high school when he came up there. He's a wonderful young man and has a good family. ... It's really going to be an interesting game to watch."
And it was.
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Burrow, barring a trade, appears headed to the Cincinnati Bengals as the first pick in the NFL Draft. Good luck to him.
No guarantee that he will be a great NFL player, a star, anywhere close to the magnitude of his 2019 LSU performance.
Look at the list of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks starting in the 1960s, and it is a history lesson.
Terry Baker (Oregon State, 1962) was the first; Burrow is the 32nd.
Baker was the first pick in the '63 NFL Draft, by the Los Angeles Rams, and lasted three years -- basically "a bust" -- before he was off to play in Canada.
Only two Heisman Trophy QBs in the last six decades (Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett) led Super Bowl winners, only one (Staubach) is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only one other (Cam Newton) has played in the Super Bowl.
Evaluate the group and you find some starters who had nice seasons, some that faded away, some were busts (hey, Johnny Manziel) and some that never had a chance or even tried.
We'll see about the five Heisman QBs before Burrow -- Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson (this season's NFL MVP, playoff flop last weekend), Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston.
I will make no prediction on Burrow's NFL future -- no "rocket" arm, just a darned accurate one -- except I would not underestimate him. His command of the game, his incentive and leadership will carry him a long way.
But remember, he's going to the Bengals. They are not the Bayou Bengals.
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Speaking of predictions, how about this one from our friend Paul Finebaum (Shreveport Journal sports-news writer, 1978-79) and now well-known SEC Network pundit (and, many think, Alabama booster) on Tuesday, November 19:"This will be LSU's last week at No. 1."
Yes, we took note of that.
Well, Paul was right ... for a couple of weeks and not entirely. LSU did drop behind Ohio State in the College Football Playoff rankings after that week -- after Ohio State beat Penn State -- but never fell from No. 1 in The Associated Press poll.
And, after the conference championship games, Paul was wrong. LSU went back to No. 1 in every poll/ranking ... and stayed. So Paul, on this, is wrong forever.
It's his job -- analysis, predictions, interviews -- and be outspoken, keep viewers interested and watching, keep them talking with and about him. So let's give him a break.
As my wife always reminds me, throw enough predictions out there, and some might even stick.
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So, back to Spurrier and Burrow, here is my prediction:
Someday, as Spurrier did at Florida, Burrow will return to LSU as the head football coach.
He has the football genes (his father coached for decades), he has the football smarts, he might even play for 10 years in the NFL (Spurrier did, mostly as a backup QB to John Brodie with the 49ers), and then he can go into coaching.
Like Spurrier as the folk hero returning to his alma mater, Burrow will return to LSU and Louisiana, where he is now a forever legend.
It took Spurrier 24 years (1966 to '90) between Heisman Trophy QB to Gators' head coach, so project Burrow at LSU in 2043. Not many of us will be around to see my prediction come true. ... (Throw enough out there and some will stick.)
So, in 2043, when someone comes across this blog when Joe Burrow is named LSU head football coach, let our kids and grandkids know we got this one right. Thank you.
From Angelina Rice: Good article. I was really never much of a sports fan until August 2014 when my brother David DeFatta had a request of me during his last weeks with us. He was in the final stages of cancer, and he asked me to read the sports pages to him -- EVERY DAY for his last few weeks. I would read to him and sometimes (if I thought he was asleep), I would pause for a few minutes. Immediately he would "wake up" and say, "Keep reading." Sometimes I would "quiz" him on the article that I had just read, and he could ALWAYS answer my questions. The man was phenomenal with his sports knowledge, just like you are. ... To this very day, I now read the sports pages every day. Thank you for keeping me in your "loop" because I do read and enjoy your articles.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ike Futch: Great blog. Maybe my great grans will come across this blog some day and see your prediction come true, say 2043.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ross Montelbano: You got a better shot at being correct than most Finebaum predictions. He also laughed at Coach O being picked to lead LSU. By the way, he will tell you, he is 100% a Bama booster.
ReplyDeleteFrom Dale Brown: You are on a roll. Very thought provoking.
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