If you give Jermaine Burton an opening, he’ll take it.
And if he takes it, with the ball caught in his hands with just a yard of space in between, he’s going to make the opposition pay.
During his high school career, Burton made defensive backs pay by playing soft against him at the line of scrimmage. And these abilities as a receiver make him tough to cover. If you play too close at the line against Burton, he can use his upper body strength to get behind the cornerback quickly. But even if a corner plays off, Burton still has the kind of speed to run past the defender.
Burton has been able to show off his jets this preseason. He quickly wowed many of his teammates. During the third scrimmage, Burton adjusted to a jump ball pass on the sideline with Eric Stokes in coverage. Burton was able to out-jump the veteran corner and come down with the football.
Plays like that are why Burton has earned so much buzz this preseason.
“Jermaine’s really fast—lightning fast,” tight end John FitzPatrick said. “He catches the ball well. He runs routes well. He also wants to work on the little things, just like everyone else. You see him after practice, before practice. He’s a great player.”
Burton finished up his high school career at Calabasas in California, but he actually played his freshman season at Hapeville Charter in Atlanta, where he got to be teammates with Georgia defensive backs William Poole and Christopher Smith. He then played with linebacker Nolan Smith during his sophomore year at IMG Academy.
Before his junior season, Burton transferred to Calabasas and subsequently went on to catch 40 passes for 863 yards and 14 touchdowns. A longtime LSU commit, Georgia flipped Burton last December during the first signing period.
With Dominick Blaylock tearing his ACL this preseason, Burton has made the most of the opportunity to move up the depth chart. When the season kicks off this Saturday against Arkansas, there's a good chance Burton will be among the three receivers on the field with the starting lineup.
Georgia’s top option at receiver, George Pickens, said Burton is already following in his footsteps.
“He reminds me of myself when I first came here,” Pickens said. “He just likes to work. Sometimes he doesn’t know what he’s doing or he’ll mess up, just like I did. But as long as he’s doing it full speed, that’s all that really matters. It shows you that he’s straining to work hard.”
This season has provided a challenge when it comes to teaching a new offense to Burton and other freshmen. Not only is there a new offensive coordinator in Todd Monken, but there aren’t any non-conference opponents early in the season who can allow freshmen to get game experience before SEC play begins.
Head coach Kirby Smart noted that while Burton is a talented receiver, he's in the same boat as many of the other first-year players who are getting adjusted to the college game.
“He’s learning our system, so he’s not there yet. But he’s a good player,” Smart said. “So many years we’ve played here, we’ve had these games where we can kind of build to a crescendo and bring the freshmen along. Unfortunately this year, with the schedule we have, it’s not going to fall that way. You look at the first four games, and it’s just a weird year for having depth at some positions with freshmen.
"They have to be ready to play really fast. They have less time to do it, because they didn’t have a spring ball and summer, so we’re having to make decisions really quick when it comes to getting our depth set and our roster set for the games we have.”
At the same time, Burton’s talent is evident, which is why he's in a position to play early as a freshman.
Smart noted how Burton’s athleticism caught his eye during the recruiting process, which he hopes will be on display during his first season with the Bulldogs.
“He’s explosive. He loves the game of football,” Smart said. “He’s got really good hands. He’s a very consistent ball catcher. He can go up—he can explode up. I remember watching him in high school, and he could jump boxes that are extremely high. He’s a talented guy.”
