LSU quarterback Joe Burrow praises Trump after team’s visit to the White House: 'He showed so much love'
On Friday, January 17, the Louisiana State University Tigers celebrated their national championship win with President Donald Trump at the White House. Before the team headed back to Louisiana, quarterback Joe Burrow presented Trump with an LSU jersey and he thanked him for his support.
“It's truly an honor to be here,” Burrow said. “Thank you for having us so soon after the game so the seniors could be here. That means a lot to us, it's a moment we'll never forget. It truly does mean a lot that you did that so soon, so thank you.”
“It's so awesome to be here. We'll never forget it. It was a great season, but this is a great way to cap it off. So thank you so much,” he added. Trump also joked around. He said, “I thought he was going to give me the Heisman Trophy. He's just giving me a jersey.”
Jordan Fabian, the White House correspondent for Bloomberg, who was present at the event tweeted that Joe further said, “He showed so much love to everyone on our team. I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, don't care about politics at all, that was an awesome experience for everybody.”
Burrow and Trump reportedly had a conversation. According to Breitbart, Trump said to Burrow, “After breaking a bone in his hand playing at Ohio State, Joe sat on the bench and wasn’t happy about it, I heard he was not thrilled,” to which Burrow responded, “Not my best one.”
Trump further added. “I heard stories. He was going a little crazy. Then the coach took charge and took a chance and brought him to LSU. Joe soon became the best quarterback in all of college football — and not close — because he set an NCAA record with 60 touchdowns — I’ve never even heard of that, 60 — in a single season, averaging a touchdown every quarter, and won the Heisman Trophy by the largest margin in the history of the Heisman Trophy.”
Trump then called Burrow a “young Tom Brady” and said, “Joe, I want to say, on behalf of the country, that you make our country very, very proud. You’re really an inspirational talent and all of that. But you’re an inspirational player and you’re an inspirational person. And you have a heart that’s incredible, and you have a team that respects you so much.”
Burrow will now move on to the NFL and it's likely he will be drafted No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals jersey. However, the Cincinnati Bengals' head coach Zac Taylor suggested on Thursday, January 16, that he wasn't yet resigned to selecting Burrow.
Taylor said, “We've started the process of evaluating him. We certainly have a long way to go before making decisions on what we're doing with the first pick. That's been exciting. We're not preparing for an opponent, so we have a chance to jump into the actual film work for all the position groups.”
He added, “It was impressive. There's no doubt. I'd like to make sure we're a little more thorough on our film evaluation with a lot of guys before we start making statements on players. But certainly, he had an impressive year.”