Vontaze Burfict
| Arizona State Sun Devils – No. 7 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker |
| Class | Sophomore |
| Major | Exploratory |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Centennial High School, Corona, California |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Vontaze Burfict (born September 24, 1990) is an American football linebacker. He is currently attending Arizona State University in his sophmore year. Burfict is considered the most highly ranked football prospect ever to sign a letter of intent to attend ASU.[1][2] He is currently regarded as the top inside linebacker prospect of his class.[3]
High school career
Burfict attended Centennial High School in Corona, California, where he was part of an undefeated Huskies team that won a CIF title, a state championship, and was ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today in 2008.[4] That year, Burfict led the Huskies with 159 tackles, two quarterback sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Burfict participated in the US Army All-American Bowl and was the third-leading tackler for the West team. He also earned numerous All-American honors, including Parade.[5]
As a junior, Burfict collected a team-high 130 tackles and added four sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. He helped anchor a linebackers unit that included fellow Sun Devils Shelly Lyons and Brandon Magee. Corona Centennial finished the 2007 season as No. 24 on USA Today‘s Top 25.[6]
Burfict missed almost all of his sophomore season due to academic problems.[7]
Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Burfict was listed as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the nation.[8]
College career
Burfict originally committed to play for the USC Trojans, but eventually switched to Arizona State on National Signing Day.[9] By July 2009, he struggled to meet admission standard based on the NCAA eligibility sliding scale and still had one summer school class to complete.[10] Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson, who compared Burfict to Ray Lewis,[2] expected him to be academically eligible for enrollment.[11] Burfict did qualify on time for the 2010 football season.
By midseason, Burfict ranked second in the team with 30 tackles despite starting only three of six games, and had five tackles for a loss, two sacks and three pass break-ups. ESPN named him Arizona State's midseason defensive MVP.[12] In a road game against Georgia on September 26, Burfict collected a season-high 11 tackles (three solo) and one and half tackles for loss. He led the Sun Devils in tackles in five games over the course of the season. By the end of the year, he had collected 69 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks, and was named a Freshman All-American by College Football News,[13] and by the Football Writers Association of America.[14] He was also honored as the Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year.
At the start of his sophomore season, Burfict was named First-Team Preseason All-American by The Sporting News. He was also named to the watch lists of the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.[15]
On October 6, 2010 Burfict was benched by Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson. The reason given was Burfict's unusually high number of personal foul penalties.[16] In a game against Stanford, Burfict was called for grabing the facemask of Doug Baldwin, and—after complaining to the referee—charged with a personal foul for unsportsmanlike conduct that gave Stanford a first down at the ASU 7.[17] Two plays later, Stanford scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown.[18]
References
- ^ Arizona State University Football Signs 21 Players to Letters of Intent, February 4, 2009
- ^ a b Bordow, Scott (August 15, 2009), "Burfict has perfect linebacker philosophy" ([dead link]), East Valley Tribune
- ^ "NFL Draft - 2013 ILB Draft Prospects". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ "Fort Lauderdale's Aquinas finishes season atop Super 25", USA Today, December 22, 2008
- ^ O'Shea, Michael (January 25, 2009), "Meet PARADE's All-America High School Football Team", Parade
- ^ "Miami Northwestern crowned Super 25 champion", USA Today, December 26, 2007
- ^ Crabtree, Jeremy (November 4, 2007), "Junior LB makes the grades, delivers impact", USA Today
- ^ Rivals.com inside linebackers 2009, January 16, 2009
- ^ Sondheimer, Eric (February 4, 2009), "ASU gets big-time recruit in linebacker Burfict", Los Angeles Times
- ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (July 18, 2009), "HS coach 'relatively optimistic' about Burfict qualifying", The Arizona Republic
- ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (August 13, 2009), "ASU expects Burfict to be eligible", The Arizona Republic
- ^ Miller, Ted (October 20, 2009), "Midseason review: Arizona State", ESPN.com
- ^ Cirminiello, Richard (December 8, 2009), "2009 CFN All-Freshman Team: Defense & Special Teams", College Football News
- ^ "2009 AON Insurance/FWAA Freshman All-America Team", FWAA, January 7, 2010.
- ^ "ASU's Vontaze Burfict Named First-Team All-American By Sporting News". ASU Athletics Football. June 22, 2010.
- ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (October 5, 2010). "Dennis Erickson takes Vontaze Burfict out of Arizona State starting lineup vs. Washington". The Arizona Republic.
- ^ Highlights: (6) Stanford - ASU on YouTube
- ^ Boivin, Paola (November 13, 2010). "ASU football team sees spirited effort derailed by Vontaze Burfict's mistakes". The Arizona Republic.