Luther Burden III proves that an elite college football recruit can bask in the national limelight while playing at Missouri.
The stage in Boone County is big enough. Coach Eli Drinkwitz can make a compelling pitch to future recruits as he continues building his program.
When ESPN ranked the Top 100 players in college football, Burden stood tall at No. 5.
Here is how the Worldwide Leader in Sports assessed him:
After a dynamic freshman season, the 5-11, 208-pound Burden was named a second-team All-American by the AP a year ago. He finished second in the SEC and ninth nationally with 1,212 receiving yards. Burden reached the 100-yard receiving mark six times in the regular season. He's electric in the open field and ranked third nationally with 725 yards after the catch.
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When ESPN and The Athletic named their preseason all-America teams, Burden was right there at wide receiver.
Here is how The Athletic described him:
The five-star recruit in the Class of 2022 made an immediate impact at Missouri with 45 catches as a freshman, but he averaged just 8.3 yards per reception. As a sophomore, he broke out into a well-rounded star for a breakthrough Mizzou team that won the Cotton Bowl. Burden jumped to 14.1 yards per catch, hauling in 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns, including a streak of five consecutive 100-yard games early on. Our NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler compared his skill set to that of Ja’Marr Chase because of his physicality and athleticism.
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook also made ESPN’s Top 100 list, coming in at No. 65:
In his second season as a starter, Cook led the Tigers to an 11-win season and a victory in a New Year's Six bowl game. He might be even better in 2024, especially with star receiver Luther Burden III coming back. Last season, Cook broke former Kentucky star Andre' Woodson's SEC record of 325 consecutive pass attempts without an interception at 365.
Remember when Missouri fans were begging Drinkwitz to replace Cook with Sam Horn? That seems like a long time ago now.
On another front, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg listed running back Nate Noel as an under-the-radar player who could break out:
Missouri returns several key pieces on offense, including wide receiver Luther Burden III and quarterback Brady Cook, but must replace Cody Schrader, the SEC's leading rusher in 2023. Noel arrives from Appalachian State with 3,074 career rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. He was the Mountaineers' rushing leader in each of the past three seasons and led the Sun Belt with 1,126 rushing yards in 2021. Noel has 14 career 100-yard rushing performances and will help anchor Missouri's backfield.
But writing for The Athletic, Manny Navarro expressed some skepticism about Missouri’s defense after praising the offense:
Luther Burden is going to put up huge numbers (100 catches, 1,300-plus yards, 15 TDs) and become the first Missouri Tiger to win the Biletnikoff Award. Brady Cook will cook (3,500-plus yards, 30 TDs), but Missouri’s pass defense will be the reason this team loses three SEC games and misses the 12-team Playoff. That’s not to say Clemson transfer Toriano Pride (SEC-leading five INTs) will not make some plays.
So that’s the one cloud amid all the national sunshine pumping. Not since Gary Pinkel’s peak seasons have things been so bright for Truman.
THE GRIDIRON CHRONICLES
Here is what folks have been writing about college football:
Andy Staples, On3: “Texas has had terrible luck already this preseason. After losing likely starting tailback C.J. Baxter for the season to a knee injury last week, the Longhorns lost freshman back Christian Clark to an Achilles tendon tear. Clark was one of the players the Longhorns hoped could help make up for the loss of Baxter, and now he’s gone too. Jaydon Blue probably will get the most carries now, and he’ll be backed up by sophomore Tre Wisner and freshman Jerrick Gibson. In today’s game, at least two players need to be sharing carries and three is preferable. That leaves Texas perilously thin, and it’s why coaches have kicked around the idea of moving someone from another position to tailback. Why is this so worrisome when the Longhorns still have three scholarship backs? They have yet to play a game, and tailbacks must absorb the most violent collisions of any position group.”
Pat Forde, : “Suffice to say, nobody has ever run a major program the way (Colorado coach Deion) Sanders is. That generated a huge amount of buzz and some significant improvement over the previous malaise in Sanders’s first season—but the final record was 4–8, which isn’t anything special. Since then there has been additional high turnover among players and staff, feuds with local media and wild (largely anonymous) allegations about off-field player behavior. Long story short, nobody knows what the on-field product will look like in Year 2. With this likely being the final college season for star quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Deion’s son) and two-way player Travis Hunter, the time is now to make a bowl game and show that Sanders is serious about building the program for the long haul.”
Carter Bahns, 247 Sports: “Arkansas committed to coach Sam Pittman for another year, but how long would his leash be if he fails to achieve bowl eligibility? His Razorbacks' win total plummeted last fall for a second year in a row, and their ability to recover from a down season largely hinges on transfer quarterback Taylen Green. If he hits, this could be a .500 squad . . .Florida’s gauntlet of a schedule might be one of the most talked-about offseason storylines of 2024, but while the point has already been emphatically driven home, the difficulty of the road ahead for the Gators really cannot be overstated. Billy Napier might need to be bowl-eligible by November in order to position himself for his first winning season in Gainesville, because his squad is set to face a whopping five ranked opponents in the final month of the campaign.”
Paul Myerberg, USA Today: “The second season-opening meeting in four years between the two heavyweights shouldn't follow the same script as the 2021 matchup, an ugly 10-3 Georgia win that laid bare Clemson's deep-seeded offensive woes. Look for the Tigers to improve thanks to increased experience in Garrett Riley's scheme and the projected development of returning starter Cade Klubnik at quarterback. The Bulldogs will remain very difficult to unseat as the early favorite for the national title, especially with the game being played in a friendly Mercedes-Benz Stadium environment.”
Ian Casselberry, Yahoo! Sports: “Jimbo Fisher and his failure to fulfill the expectations of his massive contract are gone. Texas A&M can now reset with new coach Mike Elko and Conner Weigman established as the starting quarterback. Weigman was limited to four games by a foot injury, but completed 69% of his passes for 979 yards and eight touchdowns. A promising trio of receivers in Noan Thomas, Jagdae Walker and Moose Muhammad III should help Weigman easily top that production, provided he stays healthy. The offense shouldn't have to carry the burden with a defense led by edge rusher Nic Scourton and a defensive-minded coach in Elko.”
MEGAPHONE
“Growing culture and what it looks like from maybe not a good culture to one that’s a championship-caliber culture. I certainly have felt that, and it’s been great. I’d much rather be a part of something that has a lot of expectations.”
New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, on dealing with great expectations.