Rex Burkhead- RB- Nebraska

ToughJ.Riggins

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This kid is going to be a star. He's so good even caste wacko Rivals couldn't leave him off their 250 list. Rivals' scout Jeremy Crabtree said- on a small channel radio appearance in in the Dallas area when pressed on Rex's late rise in the rankings- that Rex would probably be a top 50 player in the nation if he were a black RB. What a weasel! If this guy knows what's going on, why does he continue to be a pushover for those caste vermin. But anyway, I will start with an good article:

Football: NU coaches marvel at Burkhead

By Mitch Sherman
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN â€" Joey Stone recalls with great detail the last time he saw Rex Burkhead before the Texas high school football legend left home last month to begin practice at Nebraska.

Burkhead stopped by his old high school in Plano, Texas, to say goodbye to a few friends, including Stone, the running backs coach. Burkhead had just spent several weeks in Lincoln for a grueling period of summer conditioning designed â€" for the freshmen, at least â€" to supply a taste of what college demands.

He got the message, all right. Stone could see it in Burkhead's eyes.

"He was leaving here with a mission,"Â Stone said. "He was focused. And I promise you, whatever his mission is, he's going to accomplish it.

"If Rex Burkhead told me he was going to be the next president of the United States, I'd believe him."Â

Burkhead, three weeks later, works exclusively with the No. 1 offense in practice as Nebraska prepares for its opening game Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. The rookie is set to share time with junior Roy Helu, the Huskers' top rusher from a year ago.

Burkhead mania appears ready to strike. But the kid from north Texas "couldn't care less about any of that,"Â his father said.

"It's always going to be about tomorrow with Rex,"Â Rick Burkhead said.

Rex Burkhead looks on track to make a splash unlike any other freshman I-back at Nebraska in more than a decade.

Seemingly, he's immune to the pressure, oblivious to the buzz. "He doesn't play the game. He lives the game,"Â said Nebraska running backs coach Tim Beck, who played a key role in recruiting Burkhead away from Texas A&M, Michigan, Stanford and others.

Beck said Burkhead has already developed into a leader in Lincoln.

"Oh yeah,"Â the coach said. "It's kind of weird. He has a presence about himself unlike I have ever seen before in football."Â

And that strikes at the heart of what separates Burkhead. He's 5-foot-11, 200 pounds and not exactly the prototypical running back. For as long as he's played, observers have whispered that Burkhead ought to switch positions â€" to receiver or safety.

Burkhead, according to those who know him best, never gave it a minute of thought.

"I laughed it off,"Â said Dave Meger, a former coach and teacher at Plano High School whose son, Carson, quarterbacked Burkhead's teams from the time they were 13. "We all knew. We watched him in the fourth and fifth grade, and we knew he was special.

"Unless you've seen it, it's hard to understand."Â

The bottom line: He was born to play running back. And nothing, certainly not his age when matched against older, stronger boys, was going to stop Burkhead.

When he was 4, Rex wanted so badly to play on the team of 9- to 12-year-olds coached by his father that Rick gave him a set of pads.

"Rex wouldn't take no for an answer,"Â Rick said.

Rex's brother Ryan, three years older and now a senior defensive end at Harvard, wanted nothing to do with the bigger kids. He watched practice atop the nearby monkey bars as Rex lined up at free safety.

They never thought that little Rex would do anything but stand there â€" until he charged a ball carrier three times his age and nearly twice his size. The 12-year-old dived over the top of Rex to avoid trampling the kid.

"Rex got up like he made the tackle,"Â Rick said. "He started giving out high fives and ran back to the huddle. To him, he was playing football just as much as they all were."Â

Burkhead started 51 games at Plano High. He accumulated 6,393 all-purpose yards in his career and rushed for 1,762 last season in earning offensive player of the year honors from the Dallas Morning News in Class 5A, the ultra-competitive largest classification in Texas.

He excelled even as a freshman, the only ninth-grader in recent memory to make the varsity.

"That man is going to do whatever he wants,"Â said Carson Meger, the quarterback, now a freshman at Texas-El Paso.

It's no different, apparently, in college.

"It's not about him. It's about the team,"Â Beck said. "He gets it. A lot of very talented guys don't see the big picture. He does. He's a great young man. Players around him feed off his quiet confidence and work ethic. It's instant credibility."Â

The Burkhead pedigree appears largely responsible for his attitude. Rick Burkhead played at Eastern Kentucky and with Miami and Philadelphia in the NFL.

According to Rick, Rex "just gets football."Â He learned the fundamentals early. Rex studied a video of Barry Sanders so often as a kid that he wore it out.

"He would watch it and then go out back or to practice and emulate the stuff he'd seen,"Â the elder Burkhead said. "He went through drill after drill when he was young, and not because anyone made him. He wanted to."Â

The Burkheads have always been a tight family â€" Rick, his wife Robyn and the two boys.

"If we're not playing football, we're watching it together,"Â Rick said. "And if we're not watching it, we're thinking about it."Â

This summer, though, for the first time in two decades, it's only mom and dad at home.

And to make matters worse, since Rex's last visit home a month ago, the Burkheads have hardly heard a word from their youngest son.

"We've probably only spoken to him twice,"Â Rick Burkhead said. "My wife is threatening to track him down if he doesn't call home. But right now, he's just got his head down. He's working hard. He's doing what he thinks has to be done."Â

Contact the writer:

402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com

That quote right there in bold says it all. 5'11 200 lbs "as a true freshman" isn't big enough to stay at tailback? There's numerous black kids smaller than that who "start" as "upperclassmen". The guy tabbed "superman" for dominating Texas 5A football who owns a 3.85 short shuttle/4.5-4.55 40 yd dash giving him a .65-.70 lateral agility mark (this would have put him 1st amongst all RBs and WRs at last years combine) isn't agile enough? ESPN even claimed Burkhead should play safety and has an "overachiever" element to him. ESPN could only find one white kid in the entire nation- Brandon Wegher- who they said his natural position was tailback.

Well anyways, the good news is Rex is 2nd team already and should get plenty of work behind Helu. Rex is in a much better position than Sam McGuffie was put in at Michigan (Nebraska has a better offense with much better run blocking than Michigan) and has a thicker frame that is more ready for the punishment of FBS football. Rex will learn from a quality player and person in Roy Helu!
 

Freethinker

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This is not a knock on McGuffie, but I am more excited by the prospects of Jake Sharp, Rex Burkhead, Joe Martinek and Brandon Wegher. Toby Gerhart I'm afraid will be given the Leonard, Hester, Hillis treatment due to his size (hope I'm wrong).
 

celticdb15

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I cant wait to catch some Nebraska games this year! He should be the 3rd down back and get at least 10 carries a game.
 

white lightning

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What a great article. This kid has already become one of my favorite players. Just from reading about him. I can't wait to watch him play. I like how he watched tapes of Barry and then emulated his moves. Then he took on bigger kids. This kid is special. Go Huskers!
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Here's another article about the comradeship that has formed between the veteran backs at Nebraska and Burkhead. I love the kind of players that Bo Pelini is recruiting. He puts guys who cause headaches in their place or sends them packing. Here is an article about Marcus Mendoza who has made friends with Rex and is expected to be the 3rd option at tailback this year.
<snip>...Nebraska's Marcus Mendoza gets wish with return to running back; now he wants to get on field

ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer

2:57 AM CDT, August 26, 2009

Castille's departure â€" coach Bo Pelini dismissed him for repeated violations of team rules â€" has created competition for playing time behind starter Roy Helu Jr.

Though freshman Rex Burkhead is considered a strong No. 2, Pelini said no pecking order has been established 11 days before the Sept. 5 opener against Florida Atlantic.

Helu and Mendoza are the only backs who have carried the ball in a college game.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said Tuesday that Mendoza already is making a strong push to be among the top three backs.

"We can do all kinds of things with him, Rex and Roy," Watson said. "Those guys all possess that kind of ability to go out on the perimeter because they have receiver skills when it comes to getting in and out of breaks and being an explosive player."

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Mendoza was recruited in 2007 as a running back. With Helu and Castille having established themselves as a strong 1-2 punch, the coaches last spring sold Mendoza on the idea of moving to receiver as a way to get on the field.

Mendoza performed well at his new position, and even caught a touchdown pass in the spring game.

"I think it could have worked out," he said.

Mendoza figures to give the 24th-ranked Cornhuskers a good-hands running back.

Mendoza ran three times for 33 yards against New Mexico State, 10 times for 58 yards against Kansas State, and he averaged 7 yards on his 15 attempts last season...

Pelini said it's too early to define Mendoza's role.

"That depends on him, how he practices and if he gets better and earns a spot," Pelini said. "There's a lot of competition."

The development of Burkhead has been one of the major story lines of preseason practice. Burkhead ran for 1,762 yards and 28 touchdowns and caught 42 passes for 594 yards and five touchdowns out of the backfield last season at Plano (Texas) High.

Mendoza said the competition is friendly.

"Every time I see him I point at him and say, 'You know who your No. 1 fan is?'" Mendoza said.

"'You are, Marcus,'" Burkhead always replies.

Mendoza said going against perhaps the Huskers' most celebrated 2009 recruit only makes him better.

"I'm not going in thinking I have seniority. I still have to work," Mendoza said. "He's been there since the beginning of camp and he's worked his way up. He's pushing me harder. I know I have to work up. I'm not going to just get a spot."

Mendoza also is competing with fellow sophomore Austin Jones, redshirt freshmen Lester Ward and Collins Okafor for playing time.

"To a man, all those young running backs have been working hard," Pelini said. "I like the group." <snip>

As you guys should realize, not every black hates the white player playing in front of him if he deserves the spot as Rex has shown he does. Rex's talent is obvious- his h.s production and now brilliant performances in Summer camp are mesmerizing. The NFL could take a lesson from Nebraska- seems like it's a fairly fair program. The only thing I take issue with is that the only other white tailback on the roster as far as I know is a walk-on who might play slot WR Ty Kildrew. Also as far as I'm aware the team has zero white scholarship CBs...so Bo still isn't as fair as he should be in an ideal world.

Here's another snip from bigrednetwork.com

September 1, 2009 by Brandon Vogel
<snip> 4. Rex Burkhead
So I downplayed it a few grafs earlier, but I'm excited to see Burkhead. File this under unverified rumor, but I was told that at least one player thinks Burkhead could be the starter before the season is over. Do with that what you will--I just added it like kindling to the already raging fire of man love for the true frosh from Plano--but I suspect that Rex could have the debut that we expected Marlon Lucky to have. No pressure. <snip>
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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And I just had to post another snip about the future of the Nebraska offense. It's about Cody Green- a dual threat QB- who could really help open up the offense for Burkhead to reach his full potential. There's some more stuff on Burkhead at the end.

<snip> Cody Green Leading the Race for the Huskers' Backup Quarterback Spot

by Bugeatersteve Stuchlik (Scribe) Written on August 26, 2009
Bugeatersteve Stuchlik

Scribe

According to offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Shawn Watson, true freshman Cody Green from Dayton Texas has surged ahead of Latravis Washington in the battle for the backup quarterback behind Zac Lee.

"He's done a great job. He's really catching on," Watson said. "I'm really pleased with where he is at. Latravis is competing hard with him, trying to make up the ground he lost. We'll make some decisions by the end of the week."

Just think about it, a year ago at this time Cody was back here in Texas just 35 miles east of Houston preparing to lead the Dayton Broncos into their first game of the high school season. Now 4,800 yards and 60 plus touchdowns later Cody is in Lincoln battling to be the number two quarterback.

Watson went on to say that Green has not only impressed the staff with his leadership and maturity level, but he has also impressed his teammates as well.

"He's really catching on"¦he's just a mature guy. He gets it. He understands life a little bit and he understands football. Just a gift he has. He's a natural leader and football comes natural."Â￾

In other news, sophomore Marcus Mendoza, another Houston Texas recruit has moved back to I-back from wide receiver to help compensate for the dismissal of Q. Castille last week. Mendoza played running back in high school, but was moved to receiver last season because of all the depth.

Mendoza had discussed the move with the coaching staff prior to the actual move on Saturday, and said that he actually feels that the I-back spot is a more natural feel to him. Between all the running backs competing for playing time behind Roy Helu, Marcus is the only one with previous playing time at the spot. He had a total of 15 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown last year in limited playing time at the running back spot.

Husker running back coach, Tim Beck is hoping to find another back, one who can be that "go to"Â￾ back in short yardage and goal line situations by the end of this week. "I don't care how they do it,"Â￾ Beck said. "They can go around them, through them, over them, they can go under them."Â￾

Rex Burkhead, the freshman sensation from Plano Texas has been tabbed as the number two guy behind Roy Helu and Watson is hoping that converted wide out Marcus Mendoza will become the third option. <snip>
 

white lightning

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Hopefully this kid will be the football version of Rex Chapman. He has all the athleticism in the world and the desire to go with it. If he is half as good as we think he will be, all the Husker Cheerleaders will be yelling Sexy Rexy! Lol.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Burkhead making a strong first impression

After hearing those in Plano talk about Rex Burkhead, you half expect the 19-year-old spends his spare time concocting cures for diseases or helping build equipment for NASA.

They love him in Plano, Texas. Really love him. Or at least such is the impression gained when you learn that some in town call him "Superman."Â￾

Most teenagers would let this swell their heads to the size of a championship watermelon. In Burkhead's case, he smiles and notes he's got work to do to even be the top Burkhead.

The Husker freshman I-back points out his older brother. Ryan Burkhead plays defensive end at Harvard. Yeah, that Harvard.

"He got the brains,"Â￾ Rex said. "He's like 6-4. He got the height in the family, too."Â￾

Rex Burkhead stands 5-foot-11.

Ah, Nebraskans love humility. They also love a guy who can score touchdowns.

In four games as a Husker, the true freshman has two of those. And while most might consider the jury still out on whether Burkhead can immediately give Nebraska the same dynamic 1-2 punch that was expected from Roy Helu and Quentin Castille, the first impressions of the Plano kid are decidedly favorable.

Burkhead twice brought the crowd to its feet in Saturday's 55-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. The first came on a 33-yard punt return. The second came when Burkhead took a shovel pass, juked a defender, then broke two tackles for a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

How much confidence does Bo Pelini have in Burkhead as the Huskers head into Big 12 play?

"I had confidence in him in Game 1,"Â￾ the Husker coach said. "He picks things up. He's a good football player. He understands what we're asking him to do. He executes well."Â￾

Burkhead said he's just looking to make the most of his chances while learning from the guy ahead of him. He figures junior I-back Roy Helu is a pretty good guy to take notes off.

"He gets us going every day,"Â￾ Burkhead said. "He keeps us motivated. He leads by example, and that's what we need back there. He's kind of the guy I look up to. Definitely I want to learn as much as I can under him."Â￾

Averaging 116 rushing yards a game, Helu is currently 10th in the country in rushing and first in the Big 12, a couple yards ahead of Iowa State's Alexander Robinson.

With Helu running at full steam, it's still uncertain how much the Huskers will use the true freshman Burkhead in tight games.

Against Virginia Tech, Nebraska went almost exclusively to Helu, who touched the ball 32 times and had 202 total yards. Burkhead, meanwhile, had just one catch in that game for 16 yards.

Burkhead almost scored on that one touch, taking it inside the Tech 10.

"You saw when he gets in he kind of makes things happen,"Â￾ Husker running backs coach Tim Beck said. "If I call on him for one play, he's going to give it his all for one play."Â￾

To this point, Burkhead has 18 carries for 84 yards. He's averaging 4.7 yards per rush. Helu is averaging 6.3. Burkhead also has seven catches for 62 yards.

"You're always wanting to get out there and show what you can do, but you just got to be patient with what happens and if your time comes, make the most of it,"Â￾ Burkhead said.

After Castille was dismissed from the team two weeks before the season, it was apparent Burkhead would need to step up fast. It's a fortunate thing he buried his head in the playbook all summer.

Running the football is actually the easy part. It's the blocking aspect of pass-protection that often derails young I-backs.

"There's so many different things that just go into reading safeties and blitzes and all that, but you kind of expect it coming in here, that you're going to have to learn it at some point,"Â￾ Burkhead said. "Picking up on it quickly is the toughest part."Â￾

There's still plenty to learn, but he can be sure there is plenty of support back in Plano. Some locals even gather at "The Franchise Grill & Sports Bar"Â￾ to cheer him on when the Huskers play.

Don't think that is going to Burkhead's head. He only volunteers that information when asked.

And he may have had some cool nicknames in high school, but he's not immune to getting chills when 85,000 people are screaming.

"It's been awesome, especially that first game just going out in that Tunnel Walk and seeing that Sea of Red,"Â￾ Burkhead said. "That was something else."Â￾

rise_dal_sept08_burkhead04a_200.jpg
 
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ncf_u_burkhead_576.jpg


The front page of ESPN college football! Man they are just inviting the NAACP and Al Sharpton to come down on them, I'm sure they call them "European-American Sports Propagation Network"! Lol.

Burkhead rushed 18 for 100 yds on Saturday, but I'm sure many of us missed it because of Toby's amazing performance!

Here's the beginning of the article (starts with the dreaded "blue collar" label):

Burkhead and the Cornhuskers: A match made in blue-collar heaven
December, 1, 2009
3:44
PM ET
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By Tim Griffin

So much for the glitz and glamour of being a college running back.

When Rex Burkhead started lining up his potential choices of where to play college football, he knew hard work would be an important factor in reaching his potential as a player.


Marc Piscotty/Icon SMINebraska running back Rex Burkhead didn't expect to start as a freshman, but has excelled.
And after meeting Nebraska's Bo Pelini and learning of his determined, tenacious, blue-collar approach as a football coach, it was a match with Burkhead's hopes for a program.

"I wanted to be at a place where the guys that surround me had drive and a work ethic,"Â￾ Burkhead said. "It brings out positive atmosphere. When I noticed what they had at Nebraska, it was a big impact on me coming here."Â￾

Burkhead's early drive has helped him become a capable weapon for the Cornhuskers as a freshman. After missing five games midway through the season with a with a broken foot, he returned last week to rush for a career-best 100 yards against Colorado and was the Cornhuskers' leading rusher.


Here's the rest:


http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/7673/burkhead-and-the-cornhuskers-a-match-made-in-blue-collar-heaven
 

white lightning

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We have to give ESPN some props. They have gave our guys a little coverage this season. More than usual for them. Maybe things are slowly changing. I want to see the day where we are not shocked to see them posting articles about our guys and giving them compliments left and right as to their speed and athleteicism.
 
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white lightning said:
We have to give ESPN some props. They have gave our guys a little coverage this season. More than usual for them. Maybe things are slowly changing. I want to see the day where we are not shocked to see them posting articles about our guys and giving them compliments left and right as to their speed and athleteicism.

I think ESPN, like many other work-places has people who want to be fair regardless of race (yet may give minorities the benefit of the doubt), some like us who root for whites to succeed but are pretty secret about it, and many who simply want to shut out whites at all costs. I just appears those in the first two categories have had good reason to stand out this year. I truly do hope this changes things, and that the eventually the anti-white folks are kept to a minimum (they have always been there, just more easily managed in the past, and hopefully future!).
 
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