Jason Kelce recalls trying (and failing) to recruit Joe Burrow to UC

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow might have come to the Queen City sooner had he listened to Philadelphia Eagles center and Cincinnati Bearcats legend Jason Kelce.

During the March 22 episode of Kelce's "New Heights" podcast, he told sports commentator Rich Eisen that he tried recruiting Burrow to the University of Cincinnati when the quarterback was transferring to a new school from Ohio State University in 2018. At the time, Burrow, who graduated from OSU, had narrowed down his choices to LSU and UC.

Kelce said after the Eagles' Super Bowl victory that year, an unnamed person gave him Burrow's number and asked him to help recruit Burrow to the Bearcats. According to Kelce, the individual said Burrow would be "really good for Cincinnati," likely due to his experience working with former UC head coach Luke Fickell when Fickell was an Ohio State assistant coach in 2015.

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The six-time Pro Bowler complied by sending Burrow a text, saying he hoped the QB would keep Cincinnati in mind during his decision-making process.

"I didn't wanna push him or anything," Kelce said.

Unfortunately, his text did nothing to sway Burrow, who ultimately picked LSU over the Bearcats. But there are no hard feelings between the two local legends. Kelce said it was the best decision Burrow ever made and that everything worked out well for the quarterback, who won a national championship with the Tigers during the 2019 season, along with Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.

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"But he ended up in Cincinnati. He couldn't get away from it," Kelce joked. "The Queen City got him back."

"And how lucky are they?" Eisen responded.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jason Kelce says he tried recruiting Joe Burrow to Cincinnati Bearcats