It was New Year’s Day 2019 when Joe Burrow rolled into State Farm Stadium, Arizona to conclude his debut season as the LSU Tigers’ quarterback.
The undefeated UCF Knights were the opposition, determined to prove a point against a traditional powerhouse.
Burrow’s first season at LSU had been solid yet unspectacular after transferring from Ohio State in search of a chance to be a starter.
The Tigers trailed 7-3 early on when Burrow threw an interception deep in opposition territory.
As he ran across the field to try and make a tackle, he was crushed by a vicious blindside block by a defensive lineman and the play was returned for a touchdown.
As UCF celebrated, Burrow slowly got to his feet and trudged back to the sideline with blood under his chin.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What is your Super Bowl prediction? Join the discussion in the comments section!
Head coach Ed Orgeron called for back-up quarterback Myles Brennan to begin warming up to which Burrow fired back - “f*** that!”
Over the next three drives, he three three touchdowns to spark a comeback which saw the LSU Tigers win 40-32.
The toughness - both physically and mentally - showcased by Burrow after that hit proved a sign of things to come.
He would never lose a college game again, leading LSU to a national title, going 15-0 and putting together what many consider one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history.
After winning the National Championship game against Clemson, Burrow was filmed smoking a celebratory cigar in a video which quickly went across the world.
It only added to the legend of Joe Burrow, which had started to build real prominence against UCF 12 months earlier.
"They were handing them out in the locker room, and K.J. Malone - who is the son of (former NBA great) Karl Malone - they have a cigar company," Burrow later explained.
"So K.J. had a bunch of cigars passing them out - he was an assistant strength coach for us. So he was passing them out to everybody, and mine was about halfway gone when they said it's time to do media, and I didn't really want to give it up.
“So then we went into the little loading area before the press conference, and that's where that picture was taken on a couch right in the little waiting area to go out on stage.”
Four weeks ago, Burrow again lit a cigar in the locker room - this time to celebrate leading the Cincinnati Bengals to their first AFC North title since 2015.
Burrow’s heroics at LSU made him a sure-fire No.1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, meaning being sent to a 2-14 team who looked to have little hope.
After clinching their play-off berth, Burrow said: "We were talking about the playoffs, and I said the goal was the playoffs and the easiest way to do that is to win the division.
”Everyone kind of laughed at us a little bit, but we knew the kind of team we had and the kind of guys in the locker room we had and we knew we could go out and do it."
Unlike after the National Championship game at LSU, when Burrow had pretty much completed College Football, there was an opportunity to build on their success.
A fortnight after clinching the division, Burrow led the Bengals to their first play-off win in 31 years.
This time, instead of attracting the cameras with a cigar, he rocked up to his post-game press conference after downing the Las Vegas Raiders in a pair of vintage tinted glasses.
“I just thought they looked pretty cool,” Burrow told reporters after the game. “What do you think?”
The cigars, the sunglasses and the relaxed press conference are all part of what has seen Burrow emerge as the NFL’s next superstar.
Patrick Mahomes might be the most naturally gifted quarterback the NFL has ever seen, whilst Josh Allen showed in his duel with the Chiefs that he can run him a close second.
But Burrow, from 21-3 down, beat Mahomes in the AFC Championship game, to prove he just has it.
Off the field, his charm and personality has won him a host of fans.
On the field, his actions and ability to lead by example have shone through since the moment he first visited LSU looking for an offer.
“I have never heard another college football player talk about football the way he did,” Head coach Ed Orgeron told The Athletic of his first meeting with Burrow.
“Listening to him, what we were looking for really wasn’t so much a matter of a right or wrong answer, it was more about his command of the process.”
Those intangible qualities have translated perfectly to the NFL, allowing Burrow to transform a lost Bengals team into the talk of the league.
“I think Joe thinks deep down he’s a linebacker,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told Sports Illustrated in November
“That’s what he thinks. And that’s kinda how he plays sometimes, and sometimes I gotta hold my breath when he plays that way. But that’s just the mentality he has. And he’s the son of a coach.
“He’s grown up around football, he’s grown up around being tough and then understanding what toughness is, how that can help you as a leader.
"You don’t always have to just be the most vocal guy yelling and screaming at everybody. You lead through toughness, you lead through knowing what you’re going to do and accomplishing the task that you’re supposed to accomplish.
“And Joe does that. He’s our linebacker playing quarterback right now, and the team really responds and feeds off of that.”
Never has that toughness been more apparent than when, on the road against the AFC’s No.1 seed, the Tennessee Titans, Burrow was sacked nine times.
Whilst social media went into overdrive to mock their offensive line, the former Tiger tried to not only survive but find a way to win.
Somehow, that’s exactly what he did.
Against the Chiefs the following week, given even less of a prayer, he did the same again.
Burrow is accustomed to being written off.
He left Ohio State having not had a look-in at the starting job, and when he arrived at LSU there was a spring camp battle for the starting role.
In fall camp, with LSU’s fearsome defence dominating in practice, star linebacker Devin White trash-talked his team-mate and taunted “yeah, that play don’t work” after a big play.
Finally, Burrow bit back, according to The Athletic, yelling: “Hey, Devin, shut up, or else I’m going to come over there and beat the fuck out of you!”
Whilst Burrow had yet to win the starting job, that competitiveness was viewed as a turning point for an under-performing team.
“Joe’s not a rah-rah guy. He’s not going to give a speech,” LSU analyst Jorge Munoz said.
“He doesn’t talk shit. He has so much inner strength. I think that’s what Devin White wanted. He was wanting someone to respond and challenge him. Our team rallied around it, and I think it had a snowball effect.
“A week later, Joe had a great scrimmage. We found out that was Joe. When bad things happen, he plays better because of it.”
Barely anyone could see a way that Burrow and the Bengals could get to the Super Bowl.
But then again, few could see Burrow transforming LSU into national champions.
And whether or not Burrow lifts the Vince Lombardi Trophy this year, it is safe to say that pretty much everyone has cottoned onto the fact he is likely to be prominent on the biggest stage for years to come.
