WATCH: Luther Burden scores TD on first play of the Under Armour All-American Game
Luther Burden knows how to make a great first impression.
The five-star Missouri signee out of St. Louis, Missouri, had a great week of practices before the Under Armour All-American Game.
He then opened the game with a 65-yard touchdown catch, with 62 of those yards coming after the catch.
Burden lined up on the left side of the offense and a simple out route. The Team Legends defense was playing in soft coverage so Burden caught the pass with no defender within five years of him.
Burden turned up field, squared up a defender and stiff-armed him away. He then burst up field, split two more defenders and ran into the end zone to give Team Icons the early 7-0 lead.
Luther Burden is the No. 12 overall player in the country and No. 2 wide receiver in the country. according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
The five-star wideout has been one of the most impressive players of the weekend.
He has earned the praise of many of On3’s experts who are in Orlando this week for the game.
“Not all of the top ranked skill players will take extra reps. That is the opposite with the Missouri signee,” On3 National Recruiting Analyst Gerry Hamilton said. “It’s easy to tell that this is business trip for Burden. He wants every rep possible, and is looking to beat every defensive back lined up across from him. The On3 Consensus five-star has the look of an impact, multi-year starter for the Tigers.”
Burden was named a top performer at practice on both day 1 and day 2. He was the No. 5 performer on Day 1 and No. 3 performer on Day 2.
On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power wrote that Burden’s work during the second practice was excellent.
“Luther Burden is the most high-volume target on either team through the first two days of practice,” Power wrote. “The Missouri pledge is all about business. He’s taking a ton of reps and looks to be highly focused. Burden is a bit unassuming physically, but his play is anything but. He built on a strong first day with an even better session on Thursday. Burden won several reps in 1-on-1’s and was a favorite target for the Team Icons receivers. He’s able to get open at all three levels and continues to show strong hands at the catch point.”