Mailbox: Did Joe Burrow get a fair shake for the Ohio State quarterback job?

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com.

On Joe Burrow and Ohio State

To Brian: I didn't know what coaches were seeing in practice, but still wondered why Joe Burrow never got a chance at OSU despite always looking very good in mop-up duty and spring games. OSU had some good teams then but never won it all. I even joked that I hoped he would win the Heisman Trophy when he left. Now, even more, we are left only to wonder what might have been?

P.S.: J.T. Barrett will always be important in OSU lore but did significantly regress by his senior year. In 1968, Woody Hayes benched a two-year starter at quarterback for sophomore Rex Kern and won it all.

Dennis Singleton, Dayton

To Dennis: It's one of the great "What if" moments in Ohio State history. What if Joe Burrow hadn't broken his hand, opening the door for Dwayne Haskins to play and get the edge in the quarterback battle? As it turns out, it wasn't a terrible choice because Haskins had a sensational season after Burrow left for LSU. But would Burrow have won more games than Haskins that year with the Buckeyes? It's a discussion that will go on and on and on ...

On OSU basketball

To the editor: I just had to take a moment to issue a shout-out to our OSU men's basketball team and the coach and his staff after their remarkable comeback against Purdue at their house last Sunday. Down 20 points in the second half, I and I am sure others had written them down for a loss. What grit and determination they showed. In my opinion, Purdue, when all healthy, is a Final Four team and the Buckeyes, when healthy, are not far behind! Go Bucks!

Jackie Albert, Columbus

On Jim Harbaugh

Dear Mr. White: I am writing about Rob Oller’s Feb 3 column about the hypocrisy of Jim Harbaugh. It must be wonderful to be a columnist and write in judgment of everyone else but having no one to call attention to your shortcomings. At least Harbaugh was upfront and did not try to keep his interview with the Vikings a secret. Has coach Day had any contacts with NFL teams to which we are not privy? I also note that UM, as well as MSU, dealt with the sexual abuse situations and not swept them under the rug as OSU did, thus protecting former coach Jim Jordan. He is free to peddle his warped view of our democracy. Oller needs to step back and readjust his glasses and not be so haughty and defensive of OSU.

James LaVanchy

On OSU's deficit and tanking

Dear Mr. White: So, I discovered this week that there is a boatload of money swirling around college and pro football. In Columbus, the Ohio State athletic department revealed a $63 million deficit while the university’s new defensive coordinator is being paid $1.9 million to stop the run. In College Station, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is outraged that cynics would link a reported $30 million NIL fund to the Aggies landing the No.1-rated recruiting class.

And in Miami, former Dolphins coach Brian Flores is alleging that team owner Steve Ross offered him cash bonuses to “tank” NFL games, a practice so refined in the NBA that it’s known simply as “March and April.” Ross, it’s felt, was motivated to lose as many games as it took for the team to land QB Joe Burrow with the No. 1 draft pick. If Burrow wins the Super Bowl, and I’m Steve Ross, my defense can be summed up in one word: “See!”

Jon Armstrong, Columbus

On David Ortiz

To the editor: Jonathan Gurian’s letter criticizing this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame election raises an irrelevant point, but your response to him missed that point and raised a different irrelevancy, and so was no better. Ortiz’s election by the baseball writers had no effect on whether Barry Bonds, or Roger Clemens, or anyone else was elected. If every single person on the ballot had gotten 75% of the votes, every single one would have been inducted.

I, as a lifelong Red Sox fan born and raised in Boston, would not claim that Ortiz was “a better player than Bonds, Clemens, or Rodriguez.” But the flaws in the Mitchell report, followed by Ortiz’s subsequent record of regular and 100% negative tests for actual performance enhancing drugs, gives the lie to your statement that the writers simply rolled over for the commissioner.

Readers make mistakes all the time, but editors should know better.

Bob Burke, Bexley

On diversity and inclusion

To the editor: Over the last couple of years, identity politics has driven rapidly evolving conversations about Diversity/Inclusion/Equity and how implementation of these ideals will make a better worldwide society. The NFL and individual teams have produced public service clips to reflect these values. Individual players have made personal statements and whole teams are wearing uniform patches and helmet neck protectors with slogans. Areas on the playing field have been painted with similar messaging to reflect this new awareness. The drumbeat has been relentless.

Colleges and universities across America have embraced these ideas with designated safe spaces, signs stating “all are welcome.” The Greek system has been turned inside out by a few whistle blowers that are raised-up as heroes, and professors are allowed, maybe encouraged, to rant against American history, thereby clearly demonstrating to all that their identity politics is on the right side of history, while speaking in 110% in favor of D.I.E and its ideals.

With all this effort and passion, there doesn’t seem to be any effort to include D.I.E principals into the makeup of NFL team structure, nor have college athletic departments embraced the quota system of any team makeup. Why? Should not these same D.I.E ideals be applied through out every department, every team makeup and at every compensation band? I feel like it is important to really look at the demographics involved. To go a step further, NFL and NCAA teams should be required to meet the same recruiting statics and tracking as any large organization consistent with EEO regulations.

The NFL and college athletics are profit-making machines, just like large companies. Both have become envied, admired and held up a socially conscience examples that are supposed to lead the way into a D.I.E future where are all equal. But without actually practicing the principals of D.I.E., how can they lead everyone into the future?

Why has the NFL and university athletic department not demonstrated their commitment to D.I.E? Can anyone identify one team that reflects the demographic makeup of the state in which they are based? Maybe it is because everyone inherently understands and realizes that outstanding talent and team dynamics are more important when building top performing teams. Hopefully, this lesson will be applied to the United States Supreme Court as well.

Bill Hutter, Dublin

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Reader pays tribute to Kerry Coombs; another is a Rose Bowl poet

Injuries prove sitting out bowl games is smart business decision

Michigan didn't beat Ohio State by holding; look at Georgia game

College football players who skip bowl games are cheating their teams, fans

Yes, Urban Meyer is fit to teach class on leadership, character; Is Harbaugh lying?

Lessons from Urban Meyer, and it was Ohio State that was holding at Michigan

Is Quinn Ewers the new Curt Flood? Did refs let Michigan get away with holding?

Ohio State lost to Michigan in football, and people aren't happy

On OSU's hard-to-watch defense, overrated Cincinnati and, yes, Ryan Day's salary

Ryan Day needs to call more run plays; and, of course, more mail on Day's salary

'Garbage officiating' in Penn State game; and more on Ryan Day's salary

Ryan Day's salary (cont.), weird head-butting, high school playoff inequality

More Urban Meyer, plus how many professors you could hire with Ryan Day's salary

Plenty of backlash for Urban Meyer, and non-Daves weigh in on stadium noise

Media, and social media, equally to blame in Urban Meyer mess

Empathy for K'Vaughan Pope, plus more debate about loud music

Too much 'ear-splitting' music at Ohio State games?

Enough about Ryan Day's beard; what about local colleges?

Shohei Ohtani vs. Babe Ruth? Table that discussion for 20 years

OHSAA gets it right with expanded playoffs; Cleveland baseball got it wrong

Does it make any sense to sit maskless in a packed Ohio Stadium?

Ohio State opener was a horrible mess, from ticketing to Kerry Coombs and beyond

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Did Joe Burrow get a fair shot at starting at Ohio State