If you want to be a real contender in today’s SEC Football, finding wide receivers is a must. See how Alabama and LSU went from three yards and a cloud of dust to wide-open attacks with passes. By signing Missouri with the player described below, the Tigers have a very important player who gives them a chance to move up the SEC ladder.
Luther Burden
Size: 6’0 ”, £ 200
Position: Wide receiver
High School: East St. Louis (Ill.).
Recruitment
The Tigers won a national call for Burdon’s signature. Mizzou defeated Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon. Burdon was ranked in the national top five by a number of scout services.
Frame
Powerful upper body, especially for an incoming freshman with a wide receiver. It looks like a big fuse that can move to the position of a hybrid midfielder. Similarly, extremely strong hands for catching football through contact. Burdon can add more weight, it’s just that he’s physically as close to college football readiness as one could see when entering any college football program. Although not the tallest receiver, Burdon’s length exceeds his height. He will go up and get a pass, many other receivers his size just can’t because they don’t have the same arm length as Burdon.
Athletics
Burdon’s suddenness, especially for a 200-pound athlete, catches the eye; this makes him a great rematch man, as he misses the first defender in close quarters. From a size combined with a change of direction, one can even do some physical comparisons with players like Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Stephen Diggs (Buffalo Bills). It is not yet at their physical level, but it can certainly be on time.
The ability to quickly reach top-notch speed is also impressive. After the capture, Burdon has the ability to break boards and essentially become a defender with football in his hands, overcoming some defenders with pure force.
Great plays
No doubt, Burden is an exciting play waiting to happen. Quick juk and he left. A stiff hand and he points down to the side. An outburst of speed and he runs past the defensive back and catches the touchdown ball. After all, he’s making explosive games, and that should allow him to play very early for the Tigers, if not start at some point in 2022.
Vision
Many explosive athletes just run as fast as they can and don’t have the vision to know when to slow down and make a cut or even wait for the block right in front of them to materialize. Despite Burdon’s youth, he has shown time and time again that he is ready to let his blocks happen before he breaks through the hole.
This will help the screens in particular and is also the reason why he will probably be a returning person for the Tigers. A natural vision like Burden’s lends itself to many different chances. He could even handle a Wildcat quarterback in short yard situations.
Impact on position
With his natural strength, speed and ability to change direction, Burdon will be able to play in any of the main positions for a wide receiver, which is usually used in a distributed attack. He can play in the slot, border or receiver to the perimeter of the wide side of the field, in an attempt to maximize his skills.
Moving a talented receiver like Burden to different positions, from game to game, makes the opponent’s defender guess; it is difficult to duplicate a player who is not always in the same place. In addition, it allows Burdon the ability to oppose different defensive backs to help create one-on-one inconsistencies.
This is an area where the head coach of Missouri Elijah Drinkwitz can be creative. He is an offensive-minded coach known for his offensive tactics in the beginning, and Burdon provides a unique tool to use.
Overall, he’s too good to stay away for long. Burden provides a unique player with skills that Missouri fans are likely to soon see making big games at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri.
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