The Florida Gators landed two defensive ends recently but they’re still looking to add another speed rusher off the edge.
Defensive end Brian Burns (6-5, 217, Plantation, FL American Heritage) is one of those speed rushers and he was on the Florida Gators campus on Saturday night.
“It was my first Florida game, it exceeded my expectations,” Burns said. “It was great, the crowd was hype and they especially get hyped on third down, which is special to me because that’s money down for me. I want to get sacks on third down.”
Burns was hoping for a Florida Gators’ win on Saturday night, and while that didn’t happen, Burns did see a good defensive showing.
“The defense and defensive line performed great,” he said. “The defense gave the offense chances but the game just didn’t go their way. The defense performed great.”
After the game was over with on Saturday, Burns had the opportunity to talk with Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain about the game and the defense.
“Coach McElwain was just telling me about how I would fit into the scheme they have,” he said. “Nothing much, he was just telling about the defense and how things didn’t go there way during the game.”
McElwain has started recruiting Burns some himself, but Florida Gators defensive line coach Chris Rumph is the main recruiter for Burns.
“I still talk to Coach Rumph the most, he’s a cool dude,” Burns said smiling. “He tells me about the depth chart some and he tells me that Alex McCalister could leave early. I like the way they use him in their style of defense and really I hope he comes back so I can learn from him.”
Heading into the visit Burns had two teams on top of his recruitment and he says that still remains the same as both schools offer the same defensive scheme.
“Georgia and Florida are probably at the top but everything is really close,” he said. “Both schools use dudes exactly like me, Alex McCalister and Lorenzo Carter so I could just see myself in their defense.”
A few months ago Burns said a big part of his decision would be how comfortable he felts on campus outside of football and he’s hoping to learn that answer from Florida soon.
“When I come back for an official visit, I plan to walk around the campus and see what’s up,” Burns said on getting to see the whole campus. “Stuff outside of the stadium is what will help me make my decision.”
Now that Burns’ season is over with the defensive end plans to start focusing more on his recruitment and he will do that by taking official visits.
“I have nothing set but I plan on setting visits soon,” Burns said. “Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Alabama and then maybe LSU will get a visit.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Georgia and Florida are the true teams out front right now but Burns will play close attention to how the Georgia coaching staff plays out. That coaching change could either hurt or help the Florida Gators’ chances here.