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NU Football: Freshman Burkes surprised by heavy weigh-in
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Something had to be wrong with the scale, right?
Nebraska offensive lineman Jaivorio Burkes was being weighed before preseason camp and checked in at 353 pounds
. Surely somebody must have been messing with him.
"I was like, 'Oh, wow . . .'" Burkes said. "It surprised me. I thought I was at least like 330. It was kind of funny.
"But it's going to be fun working hard and getting back down to playing weight."
Burkes was glad to report that he'd already dipped to 343 by Saturday :thumbs . He doesn't think it'll be long before he's back to his target weight of 330.
"You can just feel the pounds shedding," Burkes said.
The lessons can sometimes be as big as his 3XL jersey. Burkes said he isn't sure how it happened but wants the NU staff to believe it won't happen again.
Getting his first taste of college football, the freshman realizes the last thing he needs is to be toting any unwanted weight. Watching Husker defensive end Barry Turner zip by him a time or two has driven home that point.
"It's pretty much been a new world here, just the speed of the game," Burkes said. "The game's so much faster. Everybody's quick off the ball. It's a real great experience. You just take it in stride and keep going."
Nebraska offensive line coach Dennis Wagner already has said that Burkes and Marcel Jones — both scholarship recruits from Arizona — are likely redshirt candidates. Burkes said that would be fine with him.
Not only is the size of the NU playbook a shock, but the coaching has included detail and technique that Burkes never was exposed to at Moon Valley High in Phoenix.
"It's a lot of stuff that we do here that I'd never done in high school," he said.
Burkes, by the way, is big everywhere.
His hands are massive. His feet are size 18. His wing span is more than 7 feet.
As a senior in high school, Burkes hit 325 pounds before finishing last season around 310. He said he played the basketball season closer to 285.
Not getting to Lincoln until Aug. 2 might have contributed to it, but Burkes said he had no explanation for how 353 happened. There's no similar margin for error with the Husker offensive line.
"It's a whole different ballgame," Burkes said. "Everybody on the offensive line is great. It's a fact that I'm going to have to get better and play hard to get on that offensive line."
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Something had to be wrong with the scale, right?
Nebraska offensive lineman Jaivorio Burkes was being weighed before preseason camp and checked in at 353 pounds
. Surely somebody must have been messing with him."I was like, 'Oh, wow . . .'" Burkes said. "It surprised me. I thought I was at least like 330. It was kind of funny.
"But it's going to be fun working hard and getting back down to playing weight."
Burkes was glad to report that he'd already dipped to 343 by Saturday :thumbs . He doesn't think it'll be long before he's back to his target weight of 330.
"You can just feel the pounds shedding," Burkes said.
The lessons can sometimes be as big as his 3XL jersey. Burkes said he isn't sure how it happened but wants the NU staff to believe it won't happen again.
Getting his first taste of college football, the freshman realizes the last thing he needs is to be toting any unwanted weight. Watching Husker defensive end Barry Turner zip by him a time or two has driven home that point.
"It's pretty much been a new world here, just the speed of the game," Burkes said. "The game's so much faster. Everybody's quick off the ball. It's a real great experience. You just take it in stride and keep going."
Nebraska offensive line coach Dennis Wagner already has said that Burkes and Marcel Jones — both scholarship recruits from Arizona — are likely redshirt candidates. Burkes said that would be fine with him.
Not only is the size of the NU playbook a shock, but the coaching has included detail and technique that Burkes never was exposed to at Moon Valley High in Phoenix.
"It's a lot of stuff that we do here that I'd never done in high school," he said.
Burkes, by the way, is big everywhere.
His hands are massive. His feet are size 18. His wing span is more than 7 feet.
As a senior in high school, Burkes hit 325 pounds before finishing last season around 310. He said he played the basketball season closer to 285.
Not getting to Lincoln until Aug. 2 might have contributed to it, but Burkes said he had no explanation for how 353 happened. There's no similar margin for error with the Husker offensive line.
"It's a whole different ballgame," Burkes said. "Everybody on the offensive line is great. It's a fact that I'm going to have to get better and play hard to get on that offensive line."
