By John Antonik
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – We’ve spent the last 2 ½ years watching Aubrey Burks, No. 2, playing the free safety position in West Virginia University’s defense.
This year, you might see him there at times, and at other times, he will be lined up near to the line of scrimmage. This past spring, the decision was made to get Burks closer to the action because of his tremendous instincts and ball-hawking abilities.
It’s something the Oakridge, Florida, resident welcomes to further expand his game.
“I want to be playing both,” he said last week in Las Vegas during Big 12 media days. “I’m going to play high safety and down in the box, depending upon on what teams are running and how they try and attack us.
Senior safety Aubrey Burks made two interceptions and broke up four passes in 2023 (All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo).
“If a team comes out in 10 or 11, I will be playing closer to the ball, and so far, I like the change,” he added. “I’ve been telling coach (Neal) Brown and coach (Jordan) Lesley that is something I want to do. They told me that my game is better closer to the ball. It’s an opportunity this year to show how versatile I am and a great opportunity for me to show what I can do closer to the ball.”
Burks’ 29 games playing free safety has generated crooked numbers in every defensive statistical category, from 116 total tackles to 8 ½ tackles for loss, 2 ½ sacks, two forced fumbles and a recovery, three interceptions and six pass breakups.
He had a pick in last December’s Dukes Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina and had a season-best seven tackles in the Mountaineers’ 20-13 win over Texas Tech, so moving him to another area of the field comes with some risk.
But there is also the reward of having one of the team’s most intelligent defenders right in the middle of the action.
“I either take advantage of it or I don’t, and I’m looking forward to it though,” he shrugged.
Burks’ impressive football IQ is what has made him the player he’s become. He’s not the fastest on the field nor does he jump the highest, but his ability to diagnose and process what is happening out there in front of him significantly speeds up his game.
Defenders like Mike Lorello, Jay Henry and Reed Williams were once very productive for the Mountaineers because of their ability to read plays and react quickly.
And Burks falls into their category.
“I want to give credit to our defensive coaching staff and everybody who has helped develop my game to where it’s at now and it’s going to be developed even more as we go through the season,” he noted. “They are putting me in the right positions to make plays, and you are never too old to be coachable or learn something new about the game because it’s always changing. There is always going to be something new to learn about this game.”
Burks said he took to heart a recent conversation he had with another player he knows about the value of football IQ and overall intelligence.
“I just had a talk with an NFL player recently, and I asked him about the NFL, what is it like? He said, ‘There are guys here who are really talented and really good, and there are guys here who are not as talented, but their knowledge is keeping them in the league,'” Burks explained. “That right there lets me know if you’ve got knowledge of the game, that can make up for not running 4.4 or if you don’t jump 40 inches.
“Knowledge can take you a long way. The more you know about the game the more you can play this game. I’m not the fastest guy on the field, I’m not the biggest and I’m not going to jump the highest, but my football IQ is pretty high,” he said.
Going back to last January, the coaching staff has added a lot of pieces to surround returning defenders Sean Martin, Hammond Russell IV, Eddie Vesterinen, Trey Lathan, Anthony Wilson Jr. and Burks.
Northwestern transfer Garnett Hollis Jr., Duquesne transfer Ayden Garnes and Gardner-Webb transfer Ty French could wind up as starters, while Ohio State transfer Reid Carrico, Troy transfer T.J. Jackson II, Colorado State transfer TJ Crandell, Northwestern transfer Jaheem Joseph, Charlotte transfer Dontez Fagan and Jacksonville State transfer Kekoura Tarnue will be battling for playing time.
Burks loves all the new pieces that have been added to the defense during the offseason.
“There are no complaints,” he said. “The pieces we’ve added put their heads down and just work. They are not complaining if we’ve got to do some extra running, or if we’ve got to wake up early and come back. That’s just something I like and that just lets me know that they are willing to work and are not here to BS or anything like that.
“It’s been good, the pieces we’ve added, and I like what we’ve added,” he added.
Burks is also really high on freshman spear Zae Jennings, a Cincinnati resident who is still a little bit undersized at 192 pounds.
“He is going to be a great player for West Virginia as the years go on,” Burks predicted. “He’s still got to hit the weight room and take in the nutrition piece, but as far as just knowing the game and just playing fast and playing fearless, that’s one incoming freshman that I like.”
We also saw some flashes last season from senior spur Tyrin Bradley Jr., particularly in the bowl game when he made an athletic, one-handed interception that made the rounds on social media. Burks says Bradley Jr. has made those types of plays multiple times in practice.
“He played quarterback in high school, so we already knew about the athleticism that he’s bringing to our team,” Burks said. “That is an athletic guy, and he can pretty much do it all. One thing I can say about TB, he has taken his work ethic this year to a whole other level. He hasn’t asked to be a leader, but he has stepped up and is being a leader and he’s the more vocal guy on the defense. He breaks us down before we hit the field and just small things like that. He’s kind of that Lee Kpogba now on our defense.”
Burks lists Jackson II, Garnes and redshirt freshman middle linebacker Josiah Trotter as others to keep an eye on. He also believes big Sean Martin is ready to emerge and become a dominant force this fall.
“I don’t think he has really showed everybody what he’s really about to bring to the game this year,” he said. “I think it’s going to show this year and I think he’s going to have a great season.
“There are a lot of guys on our team, including me, who feel like they are going to make a big jump,” he added.
Burks mentioned the biggest challenge facing Penn State in the season opener will be stopping the Nittany Lions’ two marquee running backs, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
The pair combined to run for more than 1,600 yards and scored 14 rushing touchdowns last season.
“First challenge is to stop the run and the second biggest challenge is to keep your composure when you are out there,” he admitted. “It’s the first game of the season and everybody is going to be bouncing off the wall, so treat it like a regular week-one or week-seven game. You’ve just got to play the game and let the game develop as it goes along. Just try and not do too much while you are out there – just be yourself.
“Penn State has got good players over there. It is what it is. They are going to make plays and when they make plays, we can’t lose our focus. We’ve got to stay calm. If I lose my focus as a leader of the defense everybody is going to follow behind,” he concluded.