Jaguars Vs. Bengals to Feature First Clash Between Former LSU Teammates Burrow, Chaisson

One year ago, K'Lavon Chaisson did everything in his power to make sure he didn't hit Joe Burrow when given the opportunity.

“Oh no, I ain’t that crazy. I ain’t that crazy. We don’t play those games," Chaisson said with a laugh on Friday when asked if he ever hit Burrow last season.

But on Sunday, Chaisson will reverse course and attempt to disrupt and harass his former college teammate as the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) and Cincinnati Bengals (0-2-1) are set to battle in Week 4.

Last year, Chaisson and Burrow were two of the biggest reasons for LSU winning the National Championship amidst an undefeated season. Fast forward to April, and each became first-round selections. Burrow went No. 1 overall to the Bengals, while Chaisson landed with Jacksonville at No. 20 overall.

"I am excited to play against K'Lavon this week. He has been talking a lot of practice all throughout practice the last couple of years, saying how he was going to sack me. We will see if he can do it this week," Burrow said with a smile this week.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow @JoeyB with high praise for his former LSU teammate K'Lavon Chaisson @S4CKGURU

Chaisson looking to add to the stat sheet this Sunday 👀 pic.twitter.com/PWxJpZQfni
— Ashlyn Sullivan (@ashlynrsullivan) September 30, 2020

"He has so many pass rush moves. He's going to be a really, really good player. He's fast, athletic, lean, strong. I mean, he's the total package."

The respect between Burrow and Chaisson is mutual, of course. Burrow was LSU's leader, transforming the team from a top SEC program to the top team in the nation. He played a big role in taking LSU's offense out of the stone age as he won the Heisman Trophy thanks to 4,715 yards passing yards and 48 touchdowns (tying a Heisman record), along with 289 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

Meanwhile, Chaisson was LSU's top pass-rusher. The athletic phenom recorded 60 tackles and led the team with 6.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, and six quarterback hurries along with a forced fumble.

In the NFL, Burrow has continued his hot run. The rookie passer has yet to notch his first NFL win, but he has completed 53.4% of his passes while passing for 821 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception.

To Chaisson, it is far from a surprise to see Burrow find the early success he is having, even despite the issues the Bengals have had on the offensive line.

"[He’s gotten sacked] like fourteen times in, I guess, the first three weeks of the season and I feel like I’ve yet to see him rattled at any point. I watched him go through a clutch drive and then it’s like he’s steady going," Chaisson said.

"There’s never a time where anyone can say Joe [Burrow] was a bust or whatever the case may be because he’s going to continue to ball. He’s going to continue to do him so I just feel like as a d-line or as a defensive unit, we just have to keep balling regardless of how hard you think you got him or how many times you got to him because he’s one of those who’s consistent. He’s going to keep playing hard regardless of the situation and I mean he’s just a great player. He’s just somebody we have to pay attention to.”

For Chaisson, seeing Burrow rattled is just something that didn't happen at LSU. Chaisson knew entering 2019 that Burrow was the kind of player that LSU needed to put over the top, and that is exactly what he did.

"Actually when he was being recruited to come to LSU, I was kind of the host throughout the building, just making sure [he was okay], just trying to feed him as much information about LSU and about the program just to get him there," Chaisson said Friday.

"I wanted him bad from hearing about him what a couple coaches had to say about him as far as his characteristics and his attributes from being at Ohio State and even in high school and I just felt like we needed that at LSU, so I made sure I did whatever it took to get him to LSU.”

But those days are gone. For four quarters on Sunday, Burrow and Chaisson will go from friends and former teammates to opponents. Burrow will attempt to dice up Chaisson's defense, while Chaisson will attempt to put Burrow on the ground as much as possible.

But after the final whistle blows, the former Tigers can put that behind them. Until then, however, it is all business.

“It’ll definitely be some words, some words of encouragement of course. But it’ll definitely be some words said to him once I get to him, but it’s always going to be love with me and him for sure," Chaisson said.

"I mean that’s family, that’s blood for life. Between the 60 minutes, we’re going to have to go at it, but outside of the game, after the game, it’s all love and we’re going to take care of each other.”

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