Urban Meyer’s advice has aided Joe Burrow in command of Bengals’ offense

The phrase “it’s not what you say, it’s what people hear” is one probably oftentimes thought by NCAA coaches. Getting players to hear and act on every advice is easier said than done. For a legendary coach like Urban Meyer, it’s no different.

However, Meyer, who retired at the end of the 2018 season and left the world-class Buckeyes in the hands of Ryan Day, coached Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow for three season at Ohio State.

Burrow, a four-star recruit coming out of southeast Ohio, was in Columbus his first three collegiate years, playing in a mere ten games. As a Buckeye, Burrow had completed under 30 completion and totaled under 300 yards, far different than his final season at LSU where he almost toppled 6,000 yards.

While his success can’t fully be traced back to Ohio State, Meyer, according to another ex-Buckeye that may start on Cincinnati’s offensive line, Michael Jordan, made an impact on Burrow and how he’s going to control the offense at the professional level.

Jordan was the team’s fourth-round pick in 2019, having been with Burrow at Ohio State for a couple of them.

“It’s totally different from way back then. I just remember guys like (center) Pat Elflein, coach (Urban) Meyer, constantly yelling at Joe to be more demonstrative when calling the cadence, and now everything is crystal clear. He’s getting our guys on defense to jump offside with hard counts, and I love it,” Jordan told Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson.

Burrow has sky-high expectations as he enters his rookie season.

After being the draft’s top pick, Burrow will hopefully usher in a new era of dominance for Cincinnati. Having four straight losing seasons after five straight playoff berths, Burrow’s immediate goal should be to at least help improve on their mere two-win season in 2019.

With Meyer’s advice still in mind, let’s hope he can do just that.