Barely 2 years earlier, Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Shelvin and Clyde Edwards-Helaire were all celebrating a title on the same LSU sideline.
One year later it was the former star LSU running back punching his ticket to the Super Bowl as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, noting at the time that he felt the pain of his former quarterback going down with a devastating knee injury midseason.
It was fair to question what Joe Burrow might look like when he recovered. But the Tigers legend did even more, leading his Bengals squad to an unlikely Super Bowl run, and upsetting his former teammate in the process.
But it was another member of that 2019 LSU title squad, Tyler Shelvin, who helped Burrow recreate an iconic moment from that run. Also a member of the Bengals, along with WR Ja'Marr Chase, Shelvin lifted Burrow onto his shoulders in the same fashion as when the Tigers upset Alabama in Tuscaloosa to cement their status as title contenders.
It was a moment that distilled the unique Louisiana connections that have been riding with the LSU contingent in Cincinnati, even without the Saints making the playoff field and a handful of former LSU players on the opposite sideline in Edwards-Helaire, safety Tyrann Mathieu and backup running back Darrel Williams.
Related
The Bengals roster also includes former Tulane standout Cam Sample, UL-Lafayette's Trent Taylor, and former Saints players Trey Hendrickson, Vonn Bell and Eli Apple, though the outspoken cornerback isn't drawing much support from Louisiana these days after a Twitter tirade against his former home.
With the Rams making the Super Bowl on the opposite end, there are more former LSU standouts to watch for in Andrew Whitworth and Odell Beckham Jr., though there won't be much of a question where the majority of Louisiana fans will place their rooting interests when Super Bowl 56 kicks off on Feb. 13.