Georgia Football: Impact Freshman

You know, it's not often you can go to a place like Terrence Edwards', where almost every player there working out is either a current D1 player or soon to be one, and have someone stand out.

Except for Jermaine Burton. He's Edwards' star pupil and first pupil for that matter. Burton and FAU 2020 signee, Kobe Stewart were the first to begin working with Edwards in their eighth-grade years.

And it shows. Everything from route running, to the ability to beat man coverage, all the way down to the subtle nuances of playing the position. A lot of receivers are simply catching the ball, whereas Burton is attacking the football. This is paramount when entering a league like the SEC where you've got some of the nation's best defensive backs who can close space quickly.

His ability to adjust while the ball is in the air is in rare company, paired with excellent hands and 4.4 speed. I mean, what’s not to like? He even blocks with physicality on the edge.

He's the modern size nowadays as well. Think about some of the best receivers in the NFL over the last decade or so. Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown, Devante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, JuJu Smith-Schuster, all 6'1 or under. Sure, there are still players like Julio Jones or Michael Thomas roaming around, but the more common wideouts look like Burton.

At 6'1, 205, Burton is primed for SEC competition early in his career, and I think he will certainly get his opportunity to do so. All indications we've received is that Dominick Blaylock's rehab from the ACL injury during the SEC championship game is going exceptionally well. However, despite how revolutionized and common that surgery has become, that was just five months ago.

Even if he was ready to play week one against Virginia on September 7th, what's the benefit? Sure, Virginia is a good team, one that pushed Florida in the Orange Bowl a year ago. But they lost 50% of their offensive production from a year ago, and will be breaking in a new quarterback against one of the best defenses in all of college football. Smart will likely play it safe with Blaylock until that highly anticipated game in Tuscaloosa.

Burton will see early playing time at Georgia. And he will turn heads immediately.

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