Alabama Football Recruiting: J'Marion "Phat" Burnette
This is a name you guys need to know. I love recruiting. Narrow that to in-state prospects and I get excited. Even further, narrow it down to my “local” guys and I get real excited. So it was fun for me to see that yesterday Alabama Football offered Class of 2024 Andalusia RB J’Marion Burnette.
Burnette refers to Alabama as his “dream school”. And why not? There has been an Andalusia-to-Tuscaloosa pipeline in the past. You guys remember Nico Johnson? How about basketball’s Robert Horry? Should Phat Burnette choose Alabama, he wouldn’t be the first, just the latest.
What kind of player is he? We will breakdown his highlight tape right here.
6’1, 210 is incredible size for a sophomore RB. He is a power back, first and foremost. On the inside runs, he runs through contact. Arm tackles will not do. He is powerful. He has good vision inside. Even in traffic, he sees the crease. If there is not room, he simply creates it. If his size, strength and power were his only traits, he easily projects as a Power Five back.
Burnette is beyond that. In addition to the tackle-busting, he has impressive burst and long speed. This is what makes him a special prospect. He is not only a between-the-tackles, move-the-chains back. That’s probably his best skill but don’t sell his bounce short. His acceleration, his athletic burst, it’s very good. And once he hits open green grass, he has a gear you might not expect.
He doesn’t play against premier, elite competition. For Burnette to rocket up rankings and add fun stars next to his name, that may take camp performances, all-star games, etc. That said, his offer list and his highlight tape will garner him plenty of attention. This is an elite prospect with a high ceiling.
Based on his comments, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Phat Burnette become an early commitment to Alabama in their ’24 class. He has also been offered by and is considering Oregon, Arkansas and Georgia Tech among others.
