There was plenty of familiarity in Thursday’s Bengals-Bears joint practice, and not all of it centered on the Taylor brothers.
The other reunion came when Joe Burrow crossed paths with J.T. Barrett, his former Ohio State teammate who is now Chicago’s quarterbacks coach. Burrow and Barrett shared the field in Columbus from 2015 through 2017, and Burrow didn’t hold back when talking about what Barrett meant to him.
“He’s been one of my best friends for a long time. I’ve always said that I learned the most about being a leader and a quarterback from him,” Burrow told reporters.
“Just watching him go about his business every day, he’s a guy that takes it very seriously, and you’re never gonna see him waste a day. That was very beneficial for me as a young player to be around and to watch and learn from him.
“We’ve gotten to be even better friends throughout the years, which I’ve loved and I’m excited to spend some time with him over the next couple days. Hopefully we can find some time to get together, but it’s always special when I get to see him.”
Burrow was a freshman in 2015, while Barrett was a redshirt sophomore. They stayed teammates for three seasons before Barrett graduated after the 2017 season and Burrow transferred to LSU, where he went on to win a national championship.
At Ohio State, Burrow played in 11 games and completed 29 of 39 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns.
Barrett’s Buckeye résumé runs much deeper. He won two Big Ten titles and still owns the school’s career records for passing yards with 9,434 and touchdown passes with 104. He also rushed for 3,263 yards, which ranks eighth in Ohio State history, and scored 43 rushing touchdowns, tying Ezekiel Elliott and Eddie George for third-most in school history.
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