To the list of accolades being heaped upon LSU quarterback Joe Burrow this week, add one from Georgia football legend Herschel Walker.
Walker called Burrow "one of the best quarterbacks I've ever seen" when the two visited at the College Football Awards show in Atlanta on Thursday night.
“He told me that, and I was kind of blown away, coming from arguably the most dominant college football player of all time,” Burrow said. “That was super special. When people say things like that, it just makes me want to work even harder and live up to the things people say.”
Walker said later that his remark to Burrow “is no lie.”
Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, watched Burrow play against Georgia in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Burrow was the game’s MVP, throwing for 349 yards and four touchdowns, as LSU routed the Bulldogs 37-10 to earn the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
“I told him, ‘Don’t lose the attitude,’” Walker said of his chat with Burrow on Thursday night. “I love that spunk he has because that’s what you need. Because your teammates follow that. I told him he’s an incredible, incredible player.”
Burrow collected three trophies at the College Football Awards event, which was held at the College Football Hall of Fame and televised live on ESPN: the Maxwell Award as the player of the year, the Davey O'Brien Award as the top quarterback and the Walter Camp Player of the Year award.
He’s the heavy favorite to receive an even bigger prize Saturday night in New York: the Heisman Trophy.
Asked where he’ll put all of his trophies, Burrow mentioned that a room in the basement of his family’s home in Athens, Ohio, might need to be expanded.
Walker also was among the honorees Thursday, receiving the National College Football Awards Association's "Contribution to College Football Award."
