NEW ORLEANS — Listen to Joe Burrow long enough—for an hour, say, at the College Football Playoff championship game media day—and something fascinating emerges. He has no verbal crutches—no “uhhh,” no “ummm,” not a single “you know” or “like” peppered into his parlance. If you interview enough athletes, you know this is highly unusual.
The LSU quarterback’s answers to every question were as crisp and timely as his passes from the pocket. He is, in a word, poised. Monday night, that preternatural poise will face what could be its biggest test: deciphering Brent Venables’ Clemson defense.