Now even though he looks like Lil' Wayne on the surface, minus all the face tattoos, he's not quite as skinny and a bit more athletic but talks just as good a game and backs it up.
As a freshman, Burnett started all 13 games and contributed significantly. He followed his freshman year with two more solid years and ended up with very good stats before making the decision to leave school early and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. He ended his collegiate career with 14 Interceptions, 227 Tackles, 1 Fumble Forced, and a Sack.
Burnett helped Defensive End Derrick Morgan in buying him a couple of extra seconds more often than he didn't. We've all heard of coverage sacks and Morgan benefited from a few of these in large part to Morgan Burnett lurking in the secondary and locking up wide receivers. He is going to be a valuable piece to a defensive secondary and depending on where he's selected may be starting from day one in the NFL. Everyone knows that having a good set of safeties helps a defense out tremendously.
All in all, Burnett has very good tangibles and intangibles to match. He can be a leader in the secondary as he was at Georgia Tech. He worked hard in college but he will have to double his work ethic if he wants to reach new heights of success in the National Football League.
Below, I'll provide highlights, stats, and a projection of where I think Burnett could end up going in this year's draft.
In this video, you will see that Burnett does not shy away from contact and seems to enjoy punishing wide receivers. His coverage at the college level is above par and should translate well at the pro level. He has natural instinct to get to the ball and doesn't make a ton of mistakes.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2007 ACC All-Freshman Team
- 2008 All-American Second Team
- 2008 All-ACC First Team
- 2009 All-ACC First Team
- 2009 All-American First Team
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2007 | 57 | 37 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 93 | 62 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 95 | 13.6 | 47 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 77 | 40 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 10.0 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 9/5 | Jacksonville State | W 37-17 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/10 | Clemson | W 30-27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/17 | @Miami (FL) | L 33-17 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26 | North Carolina | W 24-7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | @Mississippi State | W 42-31 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10/10 | @Florida State | W 49-44 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | Virginia Tech | W 28-23 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10/24 | @Virginia | W 34-9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10/31 | @Vanderbilt | W 56-31 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Wake Forest | W 30-27 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Duke | W 49-10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/28 | Georgia | L 30-24 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/5 | @Clemson | W 39-34 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| FedEx ORANGE BOWL | Iowa | L 24-14 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
Burnett while appealing as a selection, does have his weaknesses. He makes double-moves sometimes which leaves him exposed in certain situations. Some of his techinique will need to be fine tuned. He had trouble defending the back shoulder fade routes. But if he can figure that out, he's going to be one of the better safeties coming in to the NFL this year. If the 49ers cannot get their safety in the 1st Round, Burnett could be around for their pick in the 2nd. He weighed in at the Combine at 209 lbs and was measured at 6'1".
Possibilities -- 1st Round: Picks 20-32, 2nd Round: 33-49.
For more on 100 in 100 follow the link: