Burrell pushes for starting position

By Jay Jenkins

Published: August 13, 2008

The crutches that Denzel Burrell was assigned after the second game of the 2006 season did more than help the outside linebacker hop around the Grounds.

They served as a daily reminder of his gut-wrenching knee injury. They motivated him to push forward. And they also sent a resounding message to cherish every minute, every snap of college football.

“When I went down with the injury, it was so hard emotionally because it came, really, as I was just starting to get time on the field in the nickel and on special teams,” Burrell recounted. “After that I realized that nothing is promised out here. I realized I have to fight for everything I want to get.

“That offseason [in 2006] was big and last season was big after I got off my crutches. I was in weight room 24-7, just trying to get bigger and I added about 10 [pounds], which helped me a lot. There was a lot of self-motivation. Nothing is promised and I found that out when I started over from scratch.”

Burrell, now a junior, earned early playing time last year and made his first — and only — sack against Duke. But he could not crack the starting lineup as his close friend, Jermaine Dias, kept first-team status.

It was Dias, however, that meant the most to Burrell in his trek back from his season-ending injury.

“Honestly, Jermaine was a great leader,” Burrell said. “He was a quiet leader, but he showed things on the field. He didn’t scream and yell all the time, but he really taught me a lot at the position and it was an honor to be behind him.

“I was his friend off the field, as well, and he really just taught me the ins and outs of being a linebacker here in the 3-4 defense.”

Burrell caught the eye of coach Al Groh during the spring and was named one of the winners of the Rock Weir Award, given annually to the most improved players during the consolidated practice period.

“He’s a very good athlete. He has good initial quickness. He picks up speed quickly,” Groh said. “It should make him a worthwhile special teams player in that it doesn’t take him 30 yards to build up top speed.

“He accelerates pretty quickly. There is a lot of field to cover as an outside linebacker so that is an advantage at that position.”

Burrell, listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, is essentially in a dogfight for the spot opposite Clint Sintim on the outside at linebacker. And once again, the New Jersey native is battling for playing time with a close friend, senior Aaron Clark.

“It is very hard. We are both men about it and whoever wins the spot wins the spot, but it’s definitely hard because we both want to be out there,” Burrell said. “The passion we both showed in the offseason and the winter workouts was just amazing.

“It is going to be hard when they pick a starter and somebody is going to lose it, but we are going to be a better team because of it.”

Groh has said on numerous occasions that both players would see the field early on at the spot. The rotation and the pecking order, however, remains an unknown.

“It’s still to be determined based on most of the heavy work coming up [in training camp] what that rotation might be, whether we will

determine on a week-to-week basis based on the previous game … or what the matchups are or just a fatigue basis,” Groh said. “But they are both much more ready to play in the games than they have been in the past.

“From a mental standpoint, now their anticipation of what is coming up is much better. It is helping them play better.”

And playing is all Burrell really wants to do.

“I just want to be on the field as much as possible,” he said. “It is time to take that next step.”