SEC Football history: 50 best players of all time

12. Best SEC football players of all time: Joe Burrow, LSU football

After getting his degree at Ohio State, playing alongside some great talent in the quarterback room, Joe Burrow was ready for his chance to be a starting quarterback. He arrived at LSU before the 2018 college football season, earned the starting job, and played very well for a Tigers team that finished up as the No. 6 team in the country.

However, the following season, Burrow took the college football world by storm, putting together what many consider the greatest season of any quarterback in not only SEC history but in the history of college football. The Ohio native tossed five touchdowns in the Tigers season-opener and had the team playing elite football heading into a huge matchup against Alabama and fellow Heisman candidate Tua Tagovailoa.

Burrow led the Tigers to a shootout victory over Alabama, and when all was said and done, he led LSU to a spot in the College Football Playoff. His run through the CFP was the stuff of legend, as he tossed seven touchdowns against Oklahoma, scoring eight total and then had six total touchdowns, five through the air against a very tough Clemson team to win the national title. All told, he went 25-3 as the starter for the Tigers.

He set NCAA records with 60 touchdown passes and 5,671 yards, playing at a video game pace throughout the team’s 15-0 run. He completed better than 76 percent of his passes, dominated every week, and won pretty much every award imaginable that he was eligible for. His victory over Jalen Hurts was the largest margin in the history of the Heisman Trophy.