quote:
LSU's top receiver in the Fiesta Bowl was freshman Ja'Marr Chase, who emerged as a slant-route extraordinaire for season-high marks of six catches for 93 yards. The three other receivers with at least 75 yards in this game were either sophomores or juniors who aren't expected to enter the NFL draft.

In addition to that quartet, freshman WR Terrace Marshall Jr. didn't do much this season, but the consensus 5-star recruit is an obvious candidate for a sophomore leap. And while Texas Tech transfer Jonathan Giles had a tough debut year in the bayou, he had 1,158 receiving yards in 2016 and could be poised for a big comeback campaign.

In other words, there are plenty of returning weapons at the disposal of a quarterback who was clearly making positive strides in his final four games.

Keep in mind, Burrow didn't transfer from Ohio State to LSU until after this past spring. By the time he made his debut as the Tigers starting quarterback, he had been with the team for less than four months. It's no big surprise that he looked a bit out of sync against the defenses of Miami and Auburn, since he was just getting his feet wet with this offense.

Not only was Burrow new, but with the exception of tight end Foster Moreau, just about the entire offense was different, too. Jefferson didn't make a single reception last year before leading the team in catches this year. And running backs Nick Brossette and Edwards-Helaire were both complete afterthoughts in 2017 behind Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams.

But now that Burrow has had a full year in the system—and now that both he and the coaching staff have a much better idea about which receivers are best suited for which routes/situations—he is in the perfect position to take another huge step forward this offseason.

I'm well-aware that beating up on UCF's secondary won't make Burrow the favorite to win the 2019 Heisman. He probably won't even open the season in the top 10. According to OddsShark, he wasn't one of the top 17 candidates as of Dec. 22.

But he should be.

This performance was a vivid reminder in a marquee bowl game that this is the same Joe Burrow who battled both J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins for the starting job at Ohio State, and who subsequently steered LSU to AP Top 10 wins over Miami, Auburn and Georgia in his first seven games with the team.

If that man doesn't belong in the preseason Heisman conversation, why even have one?