Con · fi · dence (noun): the quality or state of being certain
If there's one thing you can be sure of, LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow certainly doesn't lack confidence.
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As the leader of LSU's offense, the 6-foot-4 senior quarterback finished his first year in Baton Rouge with the fourth-most passing yards in a single season in LSU football history (2,894). The transfer from Ohio State is poised to become only the fifth quarterback in school history to break the 6,000-yard mark for a career, and he'd be the first to do it since JaMarcus Russell. In 2018, Burrow set or tied eight school records, plus he became the only QB in LSU history with four wins over Top 10 teams in a single season.
You won't find a lack of confidence with this kid, and he's setting LSU's bar higher than ever for the 2019 college football season.
The permanent team captain attended the Manning Passing Academy this offseason, where he worked as a camp counselor for some of the top high school quarterback prospects in the country. Sporting a new haircut and added weight heading into his final season, Burrow sat with reporters and discussed LSU's new-look, no-huddle offense that offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing-game coordinator Joe Brady are implementing this year.
LSU is replacing its leading rusher from last season (Nick Brossette) and top tight end (Foster Moreau) after jumps to the NFL, but the Tigers have plenty of weapons coming back for this new offense.
According to The Advocate, Burrow is heavily involved in creating plays and giving input on reads for specific situations. That confidence in his abilities, and the rapport he's built with wide receivers like Justin Jefferson, has Burrow thinking LSU can be one of college football's most explosive offenses next year.
"I think we're going to score a lot of points, and I don't think a lot of people are used to LSU scoring 40, 50, 60 points a game. I think if we do what we need to do up until fall camp and continue our hard work in fall camp, we can be one of the best offenses in the country."
— LSU's Joe Burrow, h/t The Advocate
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The aspiring trader on Wall Street had a previous internship with Goldman Sachs, already owns a degree from Ohio State University, and was named to the 2018 SEC Academic Honor Roll. The 2019 Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game is smart, decisive, strong-willed, and not surprisingly, as confident as they come.
But scoring "40, 50, 60" points a game? That'd be historic.
After winning 10 games, including that final victory over the UCF Knights, LSU finished last year averaging 32.4 points per game (38th in NCAA). That's the most in a season since 2013, when Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry combined for 2,345 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns.
Since head coach Ed Orgeron took over for Les Miles back in 2016, the LSU offense has scored 40 or more points in just 10 of 34 games, and one of those was a seven-overtime loss to Texas A&M last season.
If LSU threatens to score "40, 50, 60 points" regularly, this offense would have a season unlike anything fans have ever witnessed inside Louisiana's Tiger Stadium. Expectations like that are a big reason why this team is a contender to reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiX6SMdKA3Y&t=9s
The LSU QB joined fellow SEC quarterbacks Jake Fromm (Georgia), Kelly Bryant (Missouri), Jake Bentley (South Carolina), Jarrett Guarantano (Tennessee), Tommy Stevens (Mississippi State), Matt Corral (Ole Miss) and Ben Hicks (Arkansas) as counselors for the 24th Manning Passing Academy.
