“I Shot Him a Text…”: Jason Kelce Reveals Luring Joe Burrow in What Could Not Have Been the Ideal Start to His Football Career

In the last three years, Joe Burrow has etched his place as one of the top quarterbacks in the league after a Super Bowl and AFC Championship appearance in consecutive years. However, things could have been significantly different for the Cincinnati Bengals superstar. Who knows where Joe Cool would be today had he followed Philly center Jason Kelce’s advice during his collegiate career?

The Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion recently revealed on his podcast about the time he tried to recruit transferring-Ohio State quarterback Joe Burrow for the Cincinnati Bearcats. Joe passed it. And Kelce fully realizes how important that decision was for the signal-caller’s career.

Jason Kelce tried to rope in Joe Burrow for his college team

Jason and Travis Kelce are teammates with some of the most elite quarterbacks in the league, with Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes leading their respective franchises at the moment. And guess the Kelces have a thing for greatness, as Jason noticed Joey B’s potential even before his legendary year at LSU.

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Back after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII against Tom Brady and the NE Patriots, Jason Kelce tried to use his championship influence to recruit Joe Burrow to the University of Cincinnati. Jason also had Burrow’s former Ohio State coach and then-Bearcats HC, Luke Fickell’s assistance in the nudging process. In fact, it was Fickell who first asked Jason to have a word with Joe Shiesty.

“He said, like would you mind cause this kid will be really good for Cincinnati. I shot him a text. And it was right after our Super Bowl run. He’s like ‘man, you guys killed it this year’. And I was like, ‘yeah man, best of luck to you and I hope you keep Cincinnati in mind when you’re trying to decide where to go’. I didn’t want to push him or anything,” Jason told his brother, Travis, and Rich Eisen during the latest episode of the ‘New Heights’ podcast.

Kelce won the game of chess in the end

Jason’s text messages didn’t have the desired impact on Burrow, as he ended up choosing the Tigers over the Bearcats. And things worked out really well for Joe in LSU. In his final year, Burrow led the school to a 15-0 run and the 2019 National Championship while recording one of the greatest single-season performances by a quarterback in NCAA history.

Throwing for wideouts like Justin Jefferson and his future NFL teammate Ja’Marr Chase, the Heisman winner passed for an astonishing 5671 yards and threw 60 touchdowns before entering the NFL in 2020 as the No. 1 overall pick.

However, Jason finally got his wish granted, as it was ultimately Cincinnati who drafted Burrow. And, albeit two years later, the Queen City finally got her quarterback. “He ended up in Cincinnati. He couldn’t get away from it,” Jason said. “But hey great job not taking my sales pitch for Cincinnati.”

The Bearcats found present-day Atlanta Falcons QB Desmond Ridder when Burrow passed. And Ridder did an impressive job, taking UC to the college football playoffs, making history as the first non-power-five school to make it to that stage. Win-Win for everyone!

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