Ohio State's quarterback competition has officially narrowed from three to two. On Tuesday, redshirt junior Joe Burrow announced he was transferring from the program, confirming what has been a rumor for some time.
Since Burrow recently graduated, he will be eligible to compete and play right away for another program. Burrow attempted just 11 passes last season and has 287 career passing yards with two touchdowns on his resume. With the Burrow news official, here are three things to know about him, his transfer and what it all means.
1. Burrow was, like many Ohio State QBs, a heavily recruited blue-chip prospect: A quick 411 on Burrow: He was a four-star recruit in the class of 2015 brought in by current Texas coach Tom Herman. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound signal-caller was ranked as the No. 8 overall dual-threat quarterback and the No. 11 recruit in the state of Ohio for that year. After redshirting his freshman season, he was the team's primary backup in 2016 before falling down the depth chart this past season.
2. Florida and Nebraska are two possible landing spots: Burrow tweeted that he will decide where he's transferring to over the next few weeks, but two possible destinations could be Florida and Nebraska. As CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd mentioned in April, Burrow's father and brothers played for the Cornhuskers. And with first-year coach Scott Frost evaluating the quarterbacks already on roster, Burrow could provide some immediate help at the position following the departure of 2017 starter Tanner Lee to the NFL. That would require a waiver since it would be an intra-conference transfer, but it is possible.
Florida could be another option. 247Sports has already linked Burrow to the Gators and first-year coach Dan Mullen only said he wasn't looking at the transfer quarterback market "right now," which are the two most important words in any qualifier of this variety. Whether Burrow chooses one of these programs, or neither, he'll undoubtedly have suitors interested in bringing him on.
Are Florida and Nebraska the only possible destinations for Burrow? Nope. SI.com reported Tuesday afternoon that LSU and Cincinnati have been granted permission to speak with the former Ohio State signal-caller, and he will visit both this week.
3. Is Ohio State's quarterback competition over? With Burrow's departure, Ohio State's quarterback battle suddenly gains a lot of clarity. Though Burrow was sharp in the Buckeyes' spring game -- he led all quarterbacks with 234 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-22 passing -- redshirt sophomore Dwayne Haskins has generally been considered the favorite to win the starting job for next season. He was the team's No. 2 quarterback last season behind J.T. Barrett, throwing for 565 yards, four touchdowns and a pick.
Obviously, Burrow was not the choice for coach Urban Meyer, who said after the spring game he would make a decision in the coming weeks. Unless Tate Martell has made more progress than we realize, Haskins will likely be QB1 entering preseason camp.