Calgary connection to 2020 NFL draft
Posted Apr 23, 2020 12:15 pm.
Last Updated Apr 23, 2020 12:19 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — There will be fewer than six degrees of separation at the 2020 NFL draft.
With the first selection, the Cincinnati Bengals are poised to take Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow from LSU.
His dad, Jim, is a former CFL defensive back, and he spent part of the 1980 season as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. He also suited up for the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Rough Riders, winning the 1977 Grey Cup and was twice named an East Division all-star.
After his playing career was over, he headed back south of the border to raise his family and become a coach.
Happy Draft Day !!!
— Jimmy Burrow (@CoachBurrow) April 23, 2020
And now, dad will be able to sit back and watch his son get drafted.
“I’m excited, and I’m a little nervous,” the elder Burrow admitted to Sportsnet on the morning of Thursday’s NFL draft. “I’m more anxious than anything to get that done tonight, so Joe can know where he’s going and move forward.”
To say the 2020 NFL draft is going to be unique would be an understatement. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is going to be held virtually.
Fifty-eight prospects will take part remotely with video kits supplied by the league that will record their reactions to being selected. The packages include two cellphones, two light stands, a pair of tripods, a headset for interviews and a microphone.
RELATED: Prospects ready for their closeup on draft night from home
“They sent us two boxes full of video equipment,” Burrow explained. “My wife is much more technically smart than me. She was able to put this thing together. I was a football coach, so I didn’t have the expertise in putting something like that together. But, she figured it out.
“You can only have six people on camera. We’re only going to have Joe, myself, his mom Robyn, his girlfriend will be there, and we’ll have a couple of his high school coaches in an adjoining room. We’ll be on the couch with him, where we spent a lot of time anyway, but there will be a lot of people around the world watching us on our coach for a few minutes. It’s really surreal.”
Keep it locked to 660 NEWS Thursday night for sports at :15/:45 every hour for the latest from the NFL draft.
– with files from the Associated Press
