On300 WR Luther Burden narrows list to 3 schools
Four-star receiver Luther Burden of East St. Louis, Ill., narrowed his list to three schools on Friday.
Burden – the former Oklahoma commitment and No. 204 player in the country – said Alabama, Georgia and Missouri are the final contenders for his commitment.
“With all three schools being in the SEC, I know I’ll be playing against the best of the best every week,” Burden said. “That is huge for me.”
As far as upcoming visits, Luther Burden plans on attending the Georgia game on Oct. 16, and is still working on setting up some other visits. He will attend a Mizzou game soon, but isn’t exactly sure when, due to his schedule.
Alabama has a lot of positives
Luther Burden said Alabama has always been his dream school and competing for a national championship year in and out stands out.
“They compete for a national championship every year,” Burden said. “So, they’re always on the big stage. The environment in Tuscaloosa is crazy, too.”
Burden also said having solid relationships with coaches and current players is important to him.
“The relationship that I have with my former high school teammate, (Alabama receiver) Jameson Williams, is strong,” Burden said. “Me and him talk a lot, and he’s obviously doing good up there. He wants me to follow in his footsteps.”
Staying home appealing to Luther Burden
Luther Burden said he recognizes he could do big things by staying close to home and playing for Mizzou.
“Mizzou is close to home, so that’s always a plus,” Burden said. “Coach (Eliah) Drinkwitz is really rebuilding the program, and I can see that they are getting better with recruiting. I really like coach Drinkwitz’s offense. Last game they threw the ball 50 times.”
The senior receiver also has former high school teammates at Mizzou and has strong bonds with both players and coaches.
“I know all of the coaches up there, and we have good relationships,” Burden said. “I also talk to Dominic Lovett and Tyler Macon all the time. We talk about being home and trying to build something. It would be cool to say we created something here at home.”
Burden can play early at UGA
As far as the final school in the three, Georgia, Luther Burden was blown away by his visit to Athens.
“The environment in Georgia is crazy,” Burden said. “When I went up there for my unofficial, I probably had the best time there out of all of the visits I’ve taken.”
Burden says his relationships with the coaches at Georgia are strong.
“Coach (Cortez) Hankton is a real dude,” Burden said. “I feel like I can trust him. Me and Coach (Kirby) Smart also built a relationship. We talk almost every day now.”
Burden also sees a chance to play early in Athens.
“Georgia is low on receivers right now,” Burden said. “Me coming in right now would be a good time to come play right away. They play true freshmen a lot, and that’s big for me.”