Tennessee Vols: There's an important similarity between Joe Burrow and Harrison Bailey
LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow might be one of the most popular athletes in the country at the moment. The Ohio native, who spent the first three years of his college career at Ohio State, had one of the all-time great performances in college football history on Saturday night in Atlanta. In the College Football […]
LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow might be one of the most popular athletes in the country at the moment.
The Ohio native, who spent the first three years of his college career at Ohio State, had one of the all-time great performances in college football history on Saturday night in Atlanta.
In the College Football Playoff semifinal, Burrow led the Tigers to an impressive 63-28 win against the Oklahoma Sooners, while tossing for 493 yards and seven touchdowns (he also added a rushing touchdown). Burrow has now passed for 5,208 yards this season and all but assured he'll be the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
So what does this have to do with Tennessee Vols signee Harrison Bailey?
Well, it turns out that Bailey and Burrow share a very important trait that was identified in both of them during the recruiting process.
As I was taking a look at Burrow's 2015 recruiting profile recently, I noticed a phrase in his evaluation that I'd heard in reference to Bailey on several occasions.
"Natural leader."
There are plenty of differences between Burrow and Bailey — most notably Burrow's ability to extend plays with his legs.
But they are both natural born leaders.
I don't think there's an attribute that's more important for a quarterback than being a great leader. A quarterback can have all the tools — a big arm, ability to run and improvise — but if he's not a great leader, he likely won't have a positive impact on his team.
Bailey has the physical ability to be a great player. But his undisputed ability to be a leader is what gives him the potential to be a special player in the SEC.
By the way, Bailey's overall recruiting rating in 247Sports' composite rankings is 0.9438. Burrow's overall recruiting rating was 0.9003. Bailey is easily the higher regarded player when it comes to recruiting evaluations.
Ratings don't matter once the pads go on in college. But for now, all the signs point to Bailey being an absolute stud at Tennessee.
Featured image via 247Sports/Getty
