Three standing out for Burns including the Florida Gators

Over the last few weeks the Florida Gators have gone from having an ok defensive line class to a really good one after adding defensive ends Jordan Smith and Jachai Polite, as well as defensive tackle Shavar Manuel.

Florida isn’t done on the defensive line though, as defensive end Brian Burns (6-5, 217, Plantation, FL American Heritage) is a top target for Gators defensive line coach Chris Rumph and they’re in the defensive end’s top three.

“I’ll be taking officials to Florida, Florida State and Georgia,” Burns said. “Georgia is the 16th, Florida is the 24th and Florida State is the last weekend.”

The Miami Hurricanes aren’t in Burns’ top three but they made big news by hiring American Heritage head coach Mike Rumph earlier this week. The defensive end doesn’t know what to make of the situation just yet.

“I don’t really know,” he said when asked about Rumph going to Miami. “I haven’t really been thinking about that. Once I get home, I’ll probably hear a lot about that. I’ll think about it.”

Florida has been the team with the momentum as of late and a lot of that has to do with the Gators’ defensive line coach, who has been personally recruiting Burns to Gainesville.

“Florida, I just love the defense and how they get after it out there,” Burns said. “I love Coach Rumph. He seems very genuine with everything he says, so that made a great impression.”

Rumph has also been reminding Burns that the Florida Gators are in need of a new speed rusher to replace guys who have left school early.

“Coach Rumph tells me that I can help replace Alex McCalister on the defensive line,” he said. “They tell me that I can play that same role for them and that’s a big part of their defense because they need to go to the quarterback. They like my speed off of the edge.”

Signing day is when Burns plans to make his decision and he says that he knows what it will take for a school to get his signature.

“Several things will go into my decision,” he said. “The same thing I always said, the location of the school itself, coaches come and go, so they’re not really important so my comfort level with the school is key.”

INSIDERS TAKE: People have told me that they don’t expect Miami to be a factor into Burns decision and that it likely comes down to Florida and Florida State. Florida has a great shot here but Florida State getting that last visit is concerning for Florida.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.