Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback focused on being better each day, resetting from injury, bond with Ja'Marr Chase, reflects on Super Bowl Loss, dealing with personal criticism, pre game mentality, LSU royalty & football future

“I think I’m better right now. Mentally I’m faster, my body is bigger faster stronger…That’s what I love about the process of football and the grind; when you feel yourself improving that builds momentum back..." Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback The Pivot Training Camp tour is in full swing as we visit NFL cities sitting with players and coaches around the league bringing you exclusive interviews and sideline conversations to get you ready for the football season. And we make a special stop for a Tiger who earned his stripes in Louisiana and now wears stripes in Cincinnati, the Bengal's franchise leader isn't just one who talks the talk, but actually walks the walk, with his journey speaking for itself. In partnership with Fanatics, Ryan, Fred, and Channing sit with one of the top players in the league, Joe Burrow, a QB who's not just one of the faces of football, but one of fashion, sports and culture globally. As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Burrow has helped re-write the Bengals' record books, led them to a Super Bowl, ignited a fan base and earned the nickname Joe Cool. His success has been shadowed by injury with last November, Burrow undergoing season-ending wrist surgery, stalling his chances for another Super Bowl run but with new hair and a fresh outlook, Joey B is cool, confident, collected and letting the NFL world know, "I'm back and I'm better than before." In a conversation that spans further than the Xs and Os of the game, Burrow opens up about his process, his mentality on and off the field, pride and leadership within the Bengals locker room and his bond with college teammate turned favorite NFL target, Ja'Marr Chase. Despite losing some key offensive weapons this off-season, Burrow is excited about new additions and welcomes the weight of carrying the Bengals success on his shoulders. He doesn't allow personal criticism to affect him, ignores what people say about his off the field choices and how he spends his time but admits that sometimes words about his play and effort do get to him, only because of how much he cares and pours into his craft. Led by Joe Burrow, The Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the few AFC teams that's had Kansas City's number in recent years and the duals always come down to Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, with a Bengal win in 2022 that led his team to a Super Bowl. But with that game coming down to the last few plays, the Super Bowl loss to the Rams still haunts Burrow and he's on a mission to get his team back to the post season and a chance to play for the Lombardi this year in familiar territory of Louisiana. Revisiting Burrow's legendary run at LSU that earned him the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship, the guys talk about best-ever college football teams, talent transcending to NFL careers and most importantly, the grit and grind Burrow proved he's made of. Sharing close LSU ties, RC's been a fan of his play since day one but his respect and admiration for Joe goes far beyond the field as he appreciates the QBs non-wavering stance on important social issues, including racism and commitment in using his platform to induce change. Busting chops, Ryan couldn't let Joe go without asking how the young star forgot about the OG in the infamous white party LSU photo from the summer. His response, much like all Joe does, is spot on, We’re half way through our tour, and will continue to bring sideline views and locker room conversations as we gear up for the return of the NFL season! Don’t miss out as we continue to visit teams and connect with players, coaches and meet fans on each of our Pivot stops! Make sure you subscribe to YouTube for hints on upcoming cities and follow along for more training camp content, only on The Pivot in partnership with Fanatics! https://www.linkedin.com/pivotpodcast to post your job for free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Here's your report.

• 0:01Speaker 01

  Oh, thanks, Jane. I wish I could hire someone just like you.

• 0:04Speaker 00

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• 0:20Speaker 01

  Let's do it. You're irreplaceable, Jane, but another you would be great.

• 0:24Speaker 00

  Hire right the first time. Post your job for free on LinkedIn today at LinkedIn.com/quality.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks on the planet. He's also a tiger. That's why I was excited when the Pivot Trainee Camp Tour headed to Cincinnati. He told us about his connection with star receiver Jamar Chase and why the Super Bowl loss still haunts him. He tells us that wearing his back out at a fashion show wasn't a statement. It was just Joe being Joe. We go from the O to the boot and back to the O. The quarterback says he is back and better than ever. If you don't believe us, just ask him. But don't expect to find out Saturday night before the game because he won't be so pleasant. You don't want to miss this one. Tap in to the Pivot.

• 1:31Channing Crowder?

  I was excited this morning to watch breakdancing.

• 1:33Ryan Clark?

  Breakdancing was like the dopest new add to it.

• 1:35Channing Crowder?

  But it's not.

• 1:37Ryan Clark?

  It was like the dope one.

• 1:38Channing Crowder?

  They thought it was cool and they walk out.

• 1:39Ryan Clark?

  You can breakdance. You can't breakdance, though.

• 1:41Channing Crowder?

  There he is. Who? I can't breakdance.

• 1:43Fred Taylor?

  Nah.

• 1:44Ryan Clark?

  What's happening with you? He run you over, Chan. He run you over. And he was like way more athletic than you, too.

• 1:50Channing Crowder?

  Why you always want to badmouth me when the guests come around?

• 1:52Ryan Clark?

  Because I'm the only one, other one that played defense and I can't, I won't badmouth myself. We know they run past you, for sure.

• 2:00Channing Crowder?

  It'll be a couple of balls go over my head. You know how to place that thing.

• 2:04Ryan Clark?

  Man, appreciate you, Joe Burrow. This is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, I'm Ryan Clark. Welcome to the Pivot, a part of Fanatics, part of our training camp tour. First of all, man, thank you for giving us the time. Understand how important this time is to you. We talked a couple of times this offseason. You know, you mentioned to me, I know what it is when I'm out there. I know what I can do when I'm out there. And that's a 2019 national championship and Heisman Trophy. It's an AFC championship winning, a Super Bowl appearance. It's another AFC championship appearance, but there have been injuries that have kept you from being able to do that consistently. Just from a mental, emotional, physical standpoint, how difficult has it been to deal with some

• 2:48Ryan Clark?

  of those injuries that's taking you away from the field?

• 2:50Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's hard because, I mean, you guys know all the work that goes into going out there and playing really well and playing to the level that you expect yourself to play. And then when it's taken from you, it's a always difficult thing to go through mentally and physically. Fortunately, physically, this one wasn't quite as bad. Mentally, it was worse because you feel good, but you know, you can't do what you need to do on the field. So I was able to continue to do my training, running, lifting. So that was easier than my knee, but mentally it was tough.

• 3:23Channing Crowder?

  Everybody talks about your consistency, your accuracy, like what you have as a quarterback, those natural abilities or proven abilities are there, but it's like, like you're saying, it's wrist, it's knee, it's this, it's that. The preparation of being ready to be out there, because if you're out there, I'll kiss your ass a little bit, you be balling. So moving forward, knowing it's not just, I was a knee guy, he had bad insides, Fred used to get injured. He don't got a spleen and shit like that, but just getting ready, like mentally saying, I just have to be ready. If I'm healthy, I'm winning national championships, I'm going to the playoffs, I'm winning playoff games.

• 3:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, I think this offseason, I've kind of taken a step back and... Made sure I gave my body a little more time than in the past. In the past, if something was nagging, I was like, oh, I can push through that. I can go get my workout in. No big deal. And usually it was no big deal, but sometimes it became a big deal. So I definitely took some more time off this offseason as compared to in the past.

• 4:20Fred Taylor?

  With the injuries and that part being frustrating for you, I think you've shown great leadership in just being present. You know, even down in Jacksonville, when you guys came down there a year ago, you banged up, you injured, knowing you weren't going to play. You could have easily stayed behind. But your presence and just being there, helping the other guys, you know, prep and showing that sort of leadership away from the field, how important is that for you to be available in that sense?

• 4:47Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's part of the job of being the quarterback, head of the franchise, whatever you want to call it. Whether you're out there or not, I think you have to be present and make sure that the team can continue to succeed without you. And also, that was more so for me, still being around the guys, still, you know, acting like I was involved, trying to help Jake any way that I could. You know, he does a great job for me on game day, pointing things out. So I just tried to do the same thing for him and help facilitate his success. And he did a great job. That was fun to watch. It's just fun being around football. That's being home, watching it is not as fun, I'm sure, as you guys know.

• 5:22Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 5:22Speaker 05

  Just being around the guys means a lot to me.

• 5:25Ryan Clark?

  What is a Snickers salad? When you're playing, I guess you can't eat Snickers salad as much as you can if you're rehabbing and, you know.

• 5:34Speaker 05

  That's something my mom makes.

• 5:36Ryan Clark?

  What goes into a Snickers salad?

• 5:38Speaker 05

  Cool Whip, vanilla pudding, apples, and Snickers.

• 5:42Ryan Clark?

  What do the apples do in a Snickers salad?

• 5:44Speaker 05

  Add some sweetness, some freshness. My mom, I'll get my mom to make me some.

• 5:50Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I'm gonna need, I'm gonna need to try that.

• 5:51Fred Taylor?

  You ever freeze the Snickers?

• 5:53Speaker 05

  No, I've never done that.

• 5:54Fred Taylor?

  You've never eaten a frozen Snickers bar? That's the best.

• 5:57Speaker 05

  That's yours, huh?

• 5:58Fred Taylor?

  It's the best. So I'll try the Snickers salad if you try a frozen Snickers.

• 6:02Speaker 05

  Oh, that's a deal.

• 6:03Fred Taylor?

  But be careful, don't chew with the front teeth.

• 6:05Speaker 05

  I was gonna say, that sounds a little hard.

• 6:06Fred Taylor?

  Go quick.

• 6:07Ryan Clark?

  The step back. For a guy, if we look at the destination, the Heisman Trophy, the number one overall pick, the success in the league, the contract, it seems that it's sort of been a destined route for you to be a star. But it wasn't always that for you, even having to transfer from O State to LSU. And I was there that first year. It wasn't this high level of success. So you become a grinder, a worker. How difficult is it to take a step back and think, I need to preserve my body for availability when I'm used to those reps being so important?

• 6:41Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's been difficult. It's a great way to put it. You know, all I had was that grind for, it felt like so long. It was, you know, three years, four years. That was all I had. I wasn't playing on the field. So my, you know, growth as a player wasn't shown anywhere but practice. And so all I had was working out in the weight room, running, getting my body the way that I wanted it. And so I got really good at that. And then continued that and continued to get better and better and better. And then at some point, there's some diminishing returns on the back end of that. And so that's kind of what I realized this offseason was if my body is telling me, hey, you need a day, I'm going to take that day. Or I'm going to take a little longer weekend.

• 7:26Speaker 05

  Or I'm going to go on a little trip and get my body right. Or I'm going to take it a little easier today. I'm not going to squat heavy today. I'm going to go a little lighter in the weight room. You know, you grow and evolve every year. And that's kind of been my growth this year.

• 7:39Ryan Clark?

  Was part of that growth wearing your whole back out at the fashion show?

• 7:43Speaker 05

  You like that?

• 7:46Ryan Clark?

  Joey B, man, what was the process of when they gave you your outfit for the fashion show? When you put it on?

• 7:52Speaker 05

  Went in for the fitting and they were like, this is what we would like you to wear. You can wear a shirt under it or no shirt under it. And I thought no shirt under it looked better.

• 8:00Fred Taylor?

  Do you see yourself as a trendsetter? Because like the way I see it, I haven't seen like a smoke or a cigar anywhere near football since Tom Landry, smoking on the sideline. You, that night after you guys won the national championship in the infamous photo, you smoked a cigar in the locker room. Not since then, or since then, I see players on all these teams, certainly like Max Crosby, the Raiders, these guys smoke cigars after they win. Do you consider yourself a trendsetter?

• 8:30Speaker 05

  I kind of just do shit that I think is cool and makes me happy. And sometimes it turns out that way, sometimes it doesn't. Wear what I want, do what I want. Life's not that serious, you know? You just do stuff that makes you happy and stuff that you enjoy doing with your friends. And sometimes stuff works out for you.

• 8:48Fred Taylor?

  Many people say that 2019 LSU team is the best team in college football. One, do you personally agree with that?

• 8:56Speaker 05

  I think we would have been tough to beat, for sure.

• 8:59Fred Taylor?

  Even the 03 Michigan.

• 9:02Speaker 05

  03 Michigan? I don't know, I've never heard of, I've never heard of the 03 Michigan.

• 9:05Fred Taylor?

  That school from the north? Not 03 Michigan, but the 23 Michigan team, 15-0. And I think Bama, Bama 22 was probably 14-1, and then Georgia 20.

• 9:16Speaker 05

  There's definitely some good ones, but.

• 9:18Fred Taylor?

  You think? Well, I mean, but you're biased.

• 9:20Speaker 05

  What did you say?

• 9:21Channing Crowder?

  I said, y'all beat them all.

• 9:22Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah.

• 9:23Channing Crowder?

  He got mad at me. Nah, you know, I'm side of the joke.

• 9:26Speaker 05

  I think we'll see, I think it'll become clearer as people's NFL careers continue to play out. Like you talk about the 02 Hurricanes, they have all these Hall of Famers on there. We haven't had a chance to do all that yet, but.

• 9:38Fred Taylor?

  You guys are young.

• 9:39Speaker 05

  We're still young. And there's still a lot of guys on that team that are in the league right now and getting paid, getting second contracts, balling, Pro Bowls, All Pros. We would have been tough to beat, for sure.

• 9:52Channing Crowder?

  Joe, you're confusing, man. Because I joke with you about like you kind of try to be emotionless, but you're so passionate about so much stuff. And you come out with the chains on, you got the slim shady hair now. You don't get like, is it you? Like, is that your persona? Or is it something you're fighting? Because you seem like you want to be wild, but I don't know if I can be wild.

• 10:15Speaker 05

  Yeah, I feel like I've always expressed myself in different ways than like my actual personality. Like I've always worn interesting clothes or interesting hats. I've always done different stuff with my hair, but my personality is always just like this. So I just have always expressed myself in different ways than other people, I feel like.

• 10:37Ryan Clark?

  Contracts are the difficult part of the NFL. You've experienced great success playing with Ja'Marr. It's sort of been a hold in, you know, throughout training camp. Just how important is he to overall team success, but also the connection that you guys share? How important is that to you specifically in the way that you play?

• 11:02Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's really important. He's one of the best in the game, and he shows it every Sunday. He's shown it from the second he stepped foot on the field at LSU. He's, there's not a lot of people like him. And the chemistry and relationship that we've developed since our first year, you know, you know, when you're playing with somebody for a long time and you develop that communication that you don't even really have to communicate. You give them a look because you've seen this look before and you're like, hey, do it. And you're both on the same page. You don't have to signal it. You don't have to do anything else. And the efficiency of communication is something that I think is underrated when you're playing with somebody for a long time. And that's what you have to develop with new guys. There's

• 11:42Speaker 05

  only 40 seconds on the play clock, and when you can change things on the fly quickly, that's something that you don't get with a lot of people because you don't get to play with a lot of people for that long.

• 11:52Ryan Clark?

  Tyler is now in Tennessee. Joe is now in Houston. They were both part of an extremely explosive core of offensive players that you did so well, sort of just pushing the ball to putting in the right positions. And those guys also worked with you well. What is it going to be like to have to replace those dudes? And how have you approached that so far in training camp?

• 12:18Speaker 05

  Yeah, those guys aren't easy to replace, but the guys that are stepping in that role, I'm really excited about. Three of our running backs are going to be really good players. You know, Chase. And Zach have really stepped up in the absence of Joe and they're gonna have big years. You can't replace TB with just one guy.

• 12:35Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 12:36Speaker 05

  It'll be a committee of guys that are gonna go in there and take the place of that production in that role. But we have guys that we feel really confident in that can go in and do that.

• 12:44Channing Crowder?

  With that too, so you're changing pieces, also changing offenses. You got the, you got the new coordinator now as a top and you can argue all day, top five quarterback in this league. You know, I, we go at it all the time about it. Changing offenses, is it that hard for somebody that, like you're saying, understand, there's only so many damn post nines, sevens, cut routes, snag sevens, like it's, it's the same thing, like for you to learn a new offense with knowing that you could make every throw. How difficult is that or how do you make that adjustment?

• 13:13Speaker 05

  Pitch has been with us since I got in the league and so he, like our offense is the same. We're just adding some new wrinkles, doing some different things within the structure that we've already built. We have some new terms, but nothing crazy. And then, like you said, football is football. There's not a lot of new concepts out there. So, once you've seen enough, you know what concept you're thinking of and then you can just translate it at that point.

• 13:41Channing Crowder?

  And then you, well, you're not young anymore, hell, you just hit the ass in the head. Once you make a quarter billion dollars, you're the man. Like, how much control do you have? I don't wanna say control over the offense, but how much do they look to you? How much do they, you know, say, hey, Joe, what do you like about this? What do you like about that? And try to mold it to what the star quarterback loves.

• 14:00Speaker 05

  That's what I've loved about being here. They've, I've felt ownership and input from day one. I don't think that's normal in this league. All of our coaches played quarterback, know what it takes to play quarterback. And they know that your quarterback has to be really confident in the things that you're doing on the field and the concepts, if you wanna be successful. And so, even when I was a rookie, you know, I felt that I had ownership in what we were doing. And if I ever went out and made a check and I didn't work and I came back on the sideline, I never got cussed out. It was always, why'd you do this? You know, maybe it was this look, this would've been better. And so I really couldn't have asked for a better situation to come into providing

• 14:41Speaker 05

  me with all the weapons we had, organization, making all these changes to this facility, giving me ownership in the offense. It's been great.

• 14:50Speaker 06

  Flowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them? That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions.

• 14:59Speaker 07

  I remember telling my boss, "It'll be good for the brand," when leads were slow. Yeah, it wasn't.

• 15:07Speaker 06

  Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/campaign. Terms and conditions apply.

• 15:19Fred Taylor?

  Not many quarterbacks can say they're 2-0 versus Patrick Mahomes in the regular season and 1-1 and also beat him to take your team to the Super Bowl. When it comes to that particular matchup, it reminds me a lot of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Like, if this guy won, his team was going to the Super Bowl and vice versa. Is there anything extra different you do in preparation for a matchup with someone like Patrick Mahomes?

• 15:46Speaker 05

  No. I'm treating every game the same. I think you have to do that as a quarterback if you want to be consistently successful. And I think that's what separates the great ones from the good ones is everybody can go out and have a great week. Can you have 17 really, really good games throughout the season and put together two or three of those seasons in a row? I think that's what's difficult because defenses change and evolve from year to year, your offense changes and evolves from year to year, and how are you going to adapt as a player to go and attack that defense that has changed? I think the number one thing you've got to be is adaptable. That goes from series to series, play to play, game to game, season to season. And that's something that I think about a lot.

• 16:27Fred Taylor?

  I asked someone else that was on our show. I also asked RC this because he's won a Super Bowl and he's lost a Super Bowl. For you, does it suck more to not make it or to make it and lose?

• 16:37Speaker 05

  Probably not make it. That's us. I would say that loss, that loss is, that gets harder as time goes. You know, because right after it happens, you know, 2021, we were, you know, we thought we were going to be good, but we weren't sure. We had the fifth pick the year before. And all of a sudden, we start balling at the end of the year. We were five and four at the bye. And scratching a claw for a playoff spot. And then all of a sudden, we start balling at the end of the year and find ourselves in the Super Bowl. And obviously, we wanted to go out and win that and it didn't happen. But after that, it was like, ah, we got several more years together. We're going to get this done. And then a couple of years later, it doesn't happen. So then, you know, it starts to get harder. But every year is a new year and we're going to go attack it.

• 17:17Ryan Clark?

  How often do you think about that late pressure from Aaron Donald? We've all seen the picture.

• 17:24Speaker 05

  I think about it too much. Yeah, I think about it too much.

• 17:28Ryan Clark?

  What are, what are the actual thoughts of that last play?

• 17:32Speaker 05

  It was more so the, like, the, the fourth quarter, like, all the series of events leading up to it. There were so many things that could have gone our way, didn't go our way, ended up going their way. A call here, a call there. And ball didn't bounce our way that day. Sometimes it goes like that.

• 17:47Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, and there was a lot of reasons I called you my quarterback. I remember training camp 2019, you guys were seven on seven indoors. You hit Ja'Marr on the pass. I'm standing next to a Seattle scout and we look at each other and I was like, whoa. Next one, you hit JJ, you hit Jettles on the seam. And I was like, that's what it's supposed to look like. I go on Matt Musco on that day. I was like, bro, Joe, Joe Burrow is going to be crazy this year. I think after the first week, everybody's Trevor Lawrence. I was like, Joe Burrow is going to win the Heisman. And obviously, getting an opportunity to watch you play, it's my alma mater. I was just excited that my school had you as a quarterback, but also that team and excitement around it. But you did something, once you got to the league, that made me love Joe Burrow, the person.

• 18:32Ryan Clark?

  DJ Reader actually mentioned a story you told about an AAU teammate that dealt with some racism when you were younger. And you also immediately in 2020, after George Floyd, just implored people to listen and said that the community needed your help. Can you tell me a little bit about how some, maybe even that experience in AAU? Helped you be prepared for a time as such to say, hey, look, the black community needs allies and we should try to work to be one of those.

• 19:05Speaker 05

  Yeah, that was, I remember the story that I told, it was actually after a football game.

• 19:10Ryan Clark?

  Football game, okay.

• 19:11Speaker 05

  Yeah, and you know, growing up where I grew up, southeastern Ohio, Appalachia, you know, it's a very underprivileged community. There's not a lot of black folks in that area. And so you see a lot of hate in certain places. That's not easy to see your friend going through something like that. And so that really affected me during that time. I've seen it from when I was little. And so when, when you see it affect somebody like that, I think you kind of have a different perspective on it than the majority of the population, I would say. I'd say a lot of people haven't seen it and lived it. And that's not an easy thing to go through.

• 19:54Speaker 05

  And so I always just try to help in any way that I can. And I think with the platform that we have, it's not necessarily a responsibility, but I think you're not doing everything that you can for the world and for the people that you care about if you're not helping in some way.

• 20:11Ryan Clark?

  Joe, it's 2020, you have won the Heisman, you're the first overall pick. And there are a lot of people that feel the way that you feel or may have even experienced it. But it's not a lot of people who would use their platform and risk the backlash that you could have received for that. What made you feel confident enough as a rookie quarterback on a new team to step out and be a voice for other people?

• 20:43Speaker 05

  I don't know, I just was talking from the heart. I didn't really think about it like that. You know, it made me emotional, it made me, you know, it hit me hard. And I just said things that I was thinking and feeling at the time. I didn't really think about backlash, or should I do this, should I not? I just thought it was something that I was feeling and that should be heard.

• 21:06Channing Crowder?

  And speaking on, I guess, hot button topics, divisive topics or something like RC's talking, you don't run away from. Do you even think about the side of the criticism I might get from people about this? Because it seems like you're saying, if I feel it in my heart, I'm gonna say what I feel about the situation. But you are one of the biggest faces, top athletes in the world as well. Do you think about the other side?

• 21:29Speaker 05

  You think about it, but if there's one thing that doesn't affect me, it's criticism about who I am as a person. I know who I am, I know what I believe in, and so, you know, criticism about my game, that hurts sometimes. But criticism about who I am as a person, what I do, what I wear, that never affects me because I know who I am and I'm confident in who I am and what I'm about.

• 21:59Channing Crowder?

  Does that come from your family? Because you got a strong borough family that I've read about.

• 22:04Speaker 05

  I would say that for sure, definitely. We're definitely our own people.

• 22:07Ryan Clark?

  Well, Joe, why don't you let your parents come to your house on Saturday before the game while you're there?

• 22:14Speaker 05

  That's, that's game time. Once Saturday hits, that's a different Joe now. Like, I love my parents and want to be present with them, but when it's time to get ready for a game, I might not be the most pleasant person to be around, and I don't have a lot of myself to give to anybody else. And so, I want to go through my process, I want to go through my thoughts, I want to be alone with my thoughts and thinking about what I need to think about to go out and succeed on Sundays.

• 22:44Ryan Clark?

  Was that a understanding or a conversation I had to have? Because we all remember, we've talked about it, that transition from your son to a grown ass man who y'all gave birth to, too. Was that a conversation you had to have? Well, Mom, I love you, Dad, I love you, but when I turn into that different Joe, you might not want to be here for that.

• 23:02Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's... They understood it, but it was a conversation that needed to happen. But my dad was coach for a long time. He gets it. My mom's been around sports from when I was little. She knows how I am before and after games. I mean, she was driving me to an hour to AAU practice on a random Wednesday night. So she understands how serious I take things and how emotional I get about, you know, things that I care about. So they got it.

• 23:32Ryan Clark?

  Say, bro, I'm gonna be honest, dawg. This training camp tour has really let me know. It's important about how you find your colleagues, your coworkers, employees, employers. Before I got locked up with y'all, I should have went on LinkedIn Jobs and maybe looked for some other folks. I mean, and maybe they're not even looking for this job. Shoot, 70% of the people on LinkedIn Jobs ain't looking for jobs at the time they get hired because this ain't working out. Man, come on now. You know LinkedIn works. 86% of small businesses find a qualified employee in the first 24 hours. Y'all know we gotta go on there. I'm going on there. I need me some more jobs. Y'all know I love me a job.

• 24:10Fred Taylor?

  Look, over 2.5 million small businesses are already using LinkedIn. One more won't hurt. LinkedIn make the hiring process that much easier for you.

• 24:19Ryan Clark?

  And LinkedIn makes it easy. They even have a new feature that will help you write your job description. So they're gonna help you get a job. They're gonna get it for you. Y'all know what LinkedIn's gonna do. 86% of small businesses get their qualified employee. And listen, I'm probably gonna be on there too because the way that this training camp tour is going, tired as I am, not only of them, but of the whole thing, I'm about to get my profile ready. So you can go on LinkedIn.com/pivotpodcast for free right now and load up your bio. LinkedIn.com/pivotpodcast. And look for RC. I'm gonna have a small picture. It ain't gonna be big. We see y'all.

• 24:58Fred Taylor?

  You wanna work for me?

• 24:59Ryan Clark?

  No.

• 25:02Fred Taylor?

  Talk legacy for a moment. It's hard to argue that you're the best quarterback ever in the history of LSU football. I think that's pretty much a staple. When the game's all said and done and you retire in 2040, how do you want to be remembered and what type of impact you hope to leave on the game of football and then this community here in Cincinnati?

• 25:25Speaker 05

  Yeah, I hope that I have a couple of Super Bowls, a couple of MVPs, but I just want my teammates to remember me as a good teammate. You know, the reason that it's so easy to come in and work so hard and grind through the season and lift and get up early and come into random Wednesday 7:30 protection meeting is because you love your teammates, you love being around them, you love being around your coaches, you love being around everybody in the facility. That's really why I do what I do, why I work so hard. Obviously for personal success, but because I want to be the best that I can be for the guys in the locker room. And I think being a great teammate is something that I really think about.

• 26:09Fred Taylor?

  We sat down with Anthony Richardson and asked him what advice was shared with him by Peyton Manning. And he said, "Sometimes you've just got to be an asshole." Your leadership style, are you that asshole sometimes?

• 26:21Speaker 05

  I try not to be. I mean, sometimes I get a little frustrated. I try to go compose myself before I have any conversations. I don't, you know, maybe I get to that point when I'm a little older. I just try to be close enough with the guys that I need to have the conversations with that we can have a productive conversation one-on-one as teammates and friends. Like, "Hey, I think if you do this, you know, you're going to get open and the higher chance that you're going to get the ball against a certain look." I don't think that cussing somebody out is really the best way to go about it. And you have to know your teammates well enough to understand what kind of conversation you need to have with them.

• 27:05Speaker 05

  Some guys respond better to getting cussed out. Some guys respond better to... Talking to them right on the field. Some guys respond better to eating lunch with them and bringing up, hey, like, remember that rep from the other day?

• 27:18Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 27:19Speaker 05

  And so you have to understand your teammates well enough to know that about them.

• 27:22Ryan Clark?

  Speaking of like, understanding and knowing your teammates, to say going from Columbus, Ohio to Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a culture shock is actually an understatement, you know? And the group of individuals that LSU recruits, when you talk about from the bottom of New Orleans to the top of Shreveport, it's a different human. What was that adjustment like for you? And also, how has it helped you learn to like, ingratiate yourself into a locker room and have some of those conversations you were talking about?

• 27:53Speaker 05

  Yeah, I had no idea what the hell everybody was saying for the first like, two, three months. So I would just be like, yeah, you know? I had no idea.

• 28:03Ryan Clark?

  They're like, he's so agreeable.

• 28:05Speaker 05

  Yeah. So I had to, I had to figure out the dialect a little bit. Cocho, obviously, pretty unique dialect, so that was difficult at the beginning, but I always just try to be myself and I think guys can pick up on that and appreciate that. And when somebody's like that, then it's pretty easy to assimilate into any culture or locker room that you need to. I would say, I learned a lot being at Ohio State and not being the quarterback. If I had started early, I would have felt like I had to be a certain kind of way as the starting quarterback.

• 28:48Speaker 05

  And I might have changed my mindset a little bit on that, but I was just a guy for three years. And so then, I was just a guy in the locker room. I was just myself and realized that people really appreciate that. So that's just what I try to do.

• 29:03Ryan Clark?

  I saw the throw. You rolled to the right. You pushed it down the sideline. And conversations we had, you know, you talked about every new throw, every new angle, every new space you'd be in would be an adjustment from being injured. When I saw that throw, I was like, hell, that looks like Joe to me. How confident are you in where you are now and where you'll be starting the season as compared to the Joe Burrow we're used to see play at an All-Pro level?

• 29:31Speaker 05

  I think I'm better right now. I think... Mentally, I'm faster. I think my body is bigger, faster, stronger this year. My wrist is coming along. When you're coming back from an injury like that, you get so much better every single day, every single rep. You're basically relearning how to move your wrist and throw again, which is always a process that I enjoy and I'm excited about because I love the feeling of getting better. And when you're injured, the beginning, you're getting so much better so quickly. And then there's a little plateau, couple of months where it's like, I haven't really felt like it's improved much. And then all of a sudden, there's another spike in how you're feeling and how much better you're getting.

• 30:14Speaker 05

  And then this is my first training camp in two years. I was limited in 2021. And then 2020 was COVID. So these are reps that I haven't had for the last three years, really. And so I just feel myself getting so much better every single day. And that's what I love about the process and football and the grind is you, when you feel yourself improving, that builds momentum to go back and continue to do it, continue to grind because you can feel that paying off. That's what I love.

• 30:50Channing Crowder?

  You were top in high school, won the damn Heisman, get to the league, drafted first round. Through that entire process, the injury, the transfers, all of that. Was there any time, because I think top athletes don't speak about it, don't want to admit it, but time where you doubted yourself or time where you questioned, where Joe questioned Joe?

• 31:09Speaker 05

  Yeah, I mean, at Ohio State, I was definitely questioning myself because I thought, like, I'm working so hard in the weight room. I'm playing really well in practice. And felt like nobody was really taking notice of that or seeing the improvement or how I was playing in practice. And so I was like, am I just, do I have a warped sense of myself? And how I'm playing or what kind of quarterback that I am? So that was definitely tough, those three and a half years. You know, I had so much confidence in the work that I was putting in off the field and the growth that I was having, but I felt like not a lot of people had confidence in me at that point.

• 31:53Speaker 05

  And really, all I had, like we talked about earlier, was the confidence in. Myself and the work that I was putting in would eventually come to light and pay off. And thank God it did. Yeah.

• 32:07Fred Taylor?

  Joe, we finally got access to the White Party. Channing and I couldn't make it. I was busy, Channing was off with his boys doing something. Your relationship with Mike Rubin and Fanatics, is that your one big offseason splurge? You be clean as hell, you be...

• 32:23Speaker 05

  Try to.

• 32:24Fred Taylor?

  To the T. I know RC tried to outdo you this year, but do you really enjoy being in that environment? Or is that just kind of like, Rubin's my boy, I'm gonna show up just because?

• 32:35Speaker 05

  No, I do enjoy that. You know, Michael, we're good friends, so he's a great person and friend. But I've made a lot of friends through those events. And it also gives me access to talk to people that have been in the position that I've been and have handled growth and success before and things that I'm going through currently. Changes in life and how to handle that. And so whenever you can be around people that have been there and done that and ask them questions about how to handle life, how to handle the game, how to handle fame, you know, those are really valuable conversations for me to grow and evolve as a person, I would say.

• 33:20Ryan Clark?

  Imagine me, I wake up Saturday morning, like the one thing I ask you, Ja'Marr, Livy, Odell, the freaking photographer at the White Party, I say, "Hey, bro, I don't really care how many pictures you take of me, I just need a picture with all the LSU people." Right? So imagine my surprise, I go home like, "Golly, we, as a collective, never took the LSU picture." Because that was my thought, that it never happened. And so when they assembled you all, like the Avengers, we had talked pretty much all night, you never looked around and went, "Damn."

• 33:54Ryan Clark?

  RC ain't here. Cause I wake up and I see why not LSU? And it's Odell and Ja'Marr and Joe and Livy. So I go look at my suitcase and like, damn, did I not go to the white party? I saw the white outfit. So in no time, bro, did you look left or right and realize that I wasn't there?

• 34:12Speaker 05

  I was walking by and I got grabbed and pulled into a picture. That's all I know. That's all I know.

• 34:19Ryan Clark?

  Hey, I woke up like, God. I asked for one thing.

• 34:23Channing Crowder?

  You thought Joe was gonna talk about Ryan?

• 34:25Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I did.

• 34:28Fred Taylor?

  Would that have made you the only defensive guy?

• 34:30Ryan Clark?

  In the picture? Yes.

• 34:31Fred Taylor?

  Maybe that's why.

• 34:32Ryan Clark?

  But, but, but, bro, so I didn't post my picture until later. Everybody asking me, dang, the boys ain't look for you for the picture? No, I'm asking them now. Clearly, they didn't. Joe, man, I just, and this, you know, I know you had to go first off, but thank you so much again, man. For your time. You mentioned some of your goals to Fred and I understand that those goals are those long-term goals. But when you look at this year, not even from a goal individual standpoint, what do you feel needs to be accomplished within this locker room to really uphold the standard that has been set since you were drafted and some of those pieces were put around you?

• 35:12Speaker 05

  The way that I think about day-to-day goals now are just do whatever you need to do to get better that day. And if you do that, you'll reach your, the mountain goals, like the headline goals that you want to reach. The way that I think about that now is if you wake up and get better today. And I caught myself the other day in practice. I was like, it's hot, I'm tired, it's a long practice today. It's a Sunday, everybody else is sleeping. And then I snapped myself out of it. I was like, wake the fuck up, Joe, it's time to get better. And I don't think a lot of people really take advantage of every rep that they can

• 35:57Speaker 05

  throughout the day, whether it's individual, or seven on seven, or team. Each rep throughout the day is unique and you learn so much from it. All you gotta do is just embrace that and get better every day and you'll get to where you want to get to.

• 36:10Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, man, I am forever a fan. I am very salty, though, about the picture.

• 36:16Speaker 05

  We'll get it.

• 36:17Channing Crowder?

  Y'all grown men. What about that man taking a picture with you? Y'all are grownups.

• 36:23Ryan Clark?

  But it was a group of people that took the picture.

• 36:25Channing Crowder?

  And you weren't part of the group.

• 36:26Ryan Clark?

  But man, I just want to say though, but thank you for your time, bro. I thought it was just good of you and very kind of you to sit with us. Best of luck this season, bro. Cheering for you, rooting for you. You need anything, man, I got you.

• 36:37Speaker 05

  Appreciate that.

• 36:38Ryan Clark?

  Alright, bro. Appreciate it. Hey, dawg, when I woke up.

• 36:41Channing Crowder?

  He was really hurt.

• 36:43Ryan Clark?

  I was really hurt. Hey, Sam, because you know, like, as the old dude, like, those things are important. Like, they mattered to me.

• 36:51Speaker 05

  You're a tough guy.

• 36:52Ryan Clark?

  He was riding around like he said.

• 36:54Speaker 05

  I don't know about that one.

• 37:20Speaker 01

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 37:30Speaker 01

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