Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is reliving his childhood before he officially joins the real world.

The top overall pick in April’s NFL draft is back home in Athens County, Ohio, living with his parents and looking for empty fields so he can throw passes to his friends. The Heisman Trophy he won while leading LSU to a national championship rests on the floor in a room of the family home.cheap nfl jerseys china

As if preparing for an NFL starting job as a rookie isn’t hard enough, Burrow is finding different ways to gear up for his rookie season since NFL facilities are closed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This means Burrow is on Zoom video calls from the basement of his childhood home, going over film and installations with the Bengals’ coaching staff. Throughout the week, he’s throwing to his former high school teammates. And even though he isn’t with his Bengals teammates, Burrow’s preparation isn’t lacking.

“I mean, it’s his job now,” said Ryan Luehrman, one of Burrow’s childhood friends and receivers. “He’s just solely focused on that even more than I’ve seen than when he was in college and from high school. It keeps growing and growing, his amount of attention to detail and focus.”nfl authentic jerseys

Burrow can’t throw to his Cincinnati receivers. Not only are the NFL’s facilities closed, but wideouts such as A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, John Ross and Auden Tate are not in Cincinnati.

Fortunately for Burrow, the fallback option consists of many familiarities.

His receivers are the players who helped him and Athens High School to the Ohio state championship game as seniors in 2014. Ryan and Adam Luehrman are twins who have known Burrow since he moved into town in second grade. They are now tight ends at Ohio University. Zacciah Saltzman, Burrow’s former running back who played at Georgetown, also is part of the training group.

They spread out around town on various days of the week, bouncing between whatever fields are available. It’s reminiscent of their after-school practices during their days at Athens High or in the spring when Burrow wrangled up players and their offensive coordinator for throwing sessions.