By Nate Olson | Images by Jimmy Jones
To face out on the soccer area at Warren, you have to be distinctive. The city with a inhabitants of 6,000 tucked in rural southeast Arkansas surprisingly has produced among the finest soccer expertise of any prep program within the state, together with three NFL Draft picks.
So, longtime Lumberjacks coach Bo Hembree, who has engineered 5 state title runs, isn’t shocked by a lot. However then there was younger Treylon Burks. The third-grader, who served because the Lumberjacks’ ball boy, impressed Warren assistant coaches throughout pregame warm-ups as he snagged punts and kicks in midair with ease.
“He’s particular,” Hembree mentioned. “He already had nice ball abilities again then, and he was such a very good athlete taking part in soccer, basketball and baseball.”
Burks lived as much as the promise and has turn out to be essentially the most embellished Warren alum but, lettering for 4 years and successful a state title in highschool after which changing into one of the vital sought-after large receiver recruits within the nation earlier than reviving the listless College of Arkansas soccer program and serving to them to the Outback Bowl final fall with one of the vital spectacular seasons turned in by a Hogs receiver at school historical past.
He has an opportunity to make extra historical past Thursday evening in Las Vegas if he’s picked within the first spherical of the NFL Draft, the place a number of draft consultants have projected the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder to be chosen.
“We don’t know what is going to occur [in the NFL], however [Burks] can have a possibility, and he must do essentially the most with that chance he can, and it takes a little bit luck,” Hembree mentioned.
Simply six years faraway from shagging these kicks in pregame, Burks was taking part in on Friday nights for Hembree as a freshman.
“We moved him up [to the varsity], and he struggled a little bit bit at first, however he acquired higher and higher,” Hembree mentioned.
In a Class 4A quarterfinal playoff sport towards one other Arkansas small-town energy, Nashville, he made his presence felt. The Scrappers gained the sport en path to a state championship, however they couldn’t cease the younger receiver.
“Nashville didn’t have a solution for him,” Hembree mentioned.
After an offseason crammed with exhausting work, Burks acquired even higher, and he starred at receiver and linebacker as a sophomore, serving to Warren to the Class 4A state championship.
He loved one other stellar yr as a junior, once more main a run to the state title sport, the place the crew misplaced within the ultimate seconds to Arkadelphia.
Burks’ senior season was lower brief by an ACL damage.
When Hembree displays on Burks’ highschool profession, it’s the dominance he remembers most. His influence in all sides was paying homage to one other former Lumberjacks and Razorbacks receiver, Jarius Wright. Wright lined up at receiver, quarterback and defensive again and was a return man on particular groups.
Burks additionally performed quarterback at instances together with receiver and linebacker. He additionally punted and returned kicks. He very hardly ever, if ever, left the sphere.
“He was simply the full bundle; he did all of it,” Hembree.
Hembree credit the flexibility that each Burks and Wright displayed in highschool with their potential to shine for Arkansas as true freshmen.
“Once you play that many positions in highschool, you will choose up schemes higher in school. You may have a very good understanding of the sport,“ he mentioned. “[Burks] had two offensive coordinators in two years and didn’t have any issues studying the playbook.”
Burks began 9 of 11 video games as a real freshman for Arkansas in 2019 and hauled in 29 passes for 475 yards. He was named second-team All-SEC as a return specialist by the coaches and was an SEC All-Freshman crew choice.
As a sophomore, Burks claimed the No. 1 receiver job for the Hogs and totaled 51 receptions for 820 yards and 7 touchdowns in simply eight video games as a starter. He earned second crew All-SEC honors by each the AP and coaches.
Final season, Burks totaled a career-high 66 receptions for 1,104 yards. Burks, who began all 12 regular-season video games, was solely the fourth Razorback at school historical past to document greater than 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Burks was a first-team All-SEC choice by each the AP and coaches.
Burks was the massive motive the Hogs completed 8-4 below second-year coach Sam Pittman after recording solely three successful seasons in 9 years and enduring two years of the Chad Morris Period, which yielded simply 4 wins and an 0-16 SEC mark. The 8-4 mark was the perfect document since Arkansas completed 11-2 in 2011 in Bobby Petrino’s ultimate season.
Certainly one of Burks’ finest video games got here in a slender loss to SEC energy Alabama. On a third-and-one play, Burks lined up on the skin and battled a Crimson Tide defender for the ball after which lower to the within and out-ran your complete Alabama secondary for a 66-yard landing.
“He does stuff most children can’t do,” Hembree mentioned. “He lined up on the skin 9 instances and caught a move eight instances and the opposite time drew [a pass interference penalty].”
Burks caught eight passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns within the Alabama loss.
After the season, Burks had a tricky choice to make. Would he play in Arkansas’ Outback Bowl sport in Tampa, Fla., towards Penn State or sit out to focus on making ready for the NFL Draft?
He turned to his outdated coach for recommendation.
After Burks attended Warren’s residence playoff win towards Stutttgart in late Noveber, he requested the coach to fulfill him on the fieldhouse on Sunday earlier than he returned to Fayetteville.
Hembree, in flip, did web analysis on the bonuses for first-round picks, as Burks was projected there, and he additionally consulted with Wright.
“It was robust as a result of I’ve by no means been in that scenario,” Hembree mentioned. “I advised him I wished what was finest for him. I do know there are some individuals who have agendas, however I wished what was finest for him. However I didn’t know a lot as a result of the NFL individuals I talked to weren’t going to say a lot. I leaned on Jarius loads as a result of he lived it. He was a fourth-round choose and spent eight years within the league, having to maintain his spot. If you’re a first-round choose, that [bonus] cash is assured.”
After discussions with Hembree and Wright, Burks opted out of the Outback Bowl and Arkansas beat the Nittany Lions 24-10.
“If it was an even bigger bowl, I feel he would have performed,” Hembree mentioned. “It additionally made a distinction when all of these Penn State gamers opted out.”
Since that point, Hembree has spent a substantial period of time on the cellphone with NFL scouts. Once they ask him how good Burks actually is, his gross sales pitch is straightforward.
“I ask them to inform me who Arkansas’ No. 2 receiver was,” Hembree mentioned. “They’ll’t do it as a result of there wasn’t one. All of these different receiver prospects had different receivers. [Burks] needed to do it on his personal. There wasn’t a legit man to take the strain off him.
“Everybody within the SEC knew he was going to get the ball and couldn’t cease him. It’s been that method since he was in seventh grade. When each crew is aware of you will get the ball, and so they nonetheless can’t cease you … It was that method for Bret Smith, Jarius Wright, Greg Childs and Chris Gragg [all former Warren receivers], too. Not one of the elite highschool defenses may cease them, and so they saved getting the ball. That’s particular when you are able to do that. Do you assume that Nick Saban didn’t know Arkansas was going to move the ball to [Burks]?”
The opposite widespread matter amongst scouts was Burks’ velocity. He was clocked at 4.55 seconds on the NFL Mix.
“I advised [the scouts] Treylon is as quick as he must be,” Hembree mentioned. “He’s by no means going to must run out of a three-point stance and like that once more. Present me the tape the place he has been caught from behind. It has by no means occurred. It didn’t occur in highschool, and it didn’t occur at Arkansas.”
Completely different draft pundits have projected Burks to go wherever from the mid to late first spherical, together with veteran ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper, who has Burks going No. 19 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It might be excessive drama for Burks as he watches hoping to listen to his title referred to as Thursday evening with Hembree by his facet.
“It will be worrying,” Hembree mentioned. “I watched with [Wright], and it was worrying.”
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