What has the transition from Mark Richt to Kirby Smart meant to 4-star defensive end Brian Burns? It is now an opportunity for Smart to show off how good he and his future staff are on the recruiting trail.
Burns told Gatorbait.net prior to Richt’s firing that Florida and UGA were probably at the top for him.
That followed an unofficial visit to Florida on Nov. 28, but that is no longer the case. The 6-foot-5 defender told DawgNation his new co-leaders are Florida and Florida State.
That’s interesting considering Burns plays for an American Heritage (Fla.) program that’s been a pipeline to UGA sending impact players like Isaiah McKenzie, Sony Michel and Marshall Morgan to Athens.
When Burns and his Patriots played in Metro Atlanta this season, at least 12 current UGA players came out to watch that game. He got a pregame hug from both Nick Chubb and Michel prior to that game. It was an impressive sight.
He’d been planning to take official visits to UGA, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and LSU. Burns will now wait to see Smart’s staff come together at UGA. He’s also not sure about what Mark Richt at Miami might mean for him.
“I’m just really waiting to see what happens to UGA and I don’t know about Miami yet,” Burns said.
He did say that Smart being named the head coach at UGA did not change anything for him. The elite defender from Florida is cut out of the Leonard Floyd mold as a dynamic edge rusher.
He was basically all over the quarterback in one out of every three plays as a senior. He proved so disruptive that the American Heritage staff started tracking how many false starts he caused this year.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.