mcintyre1
Footballguy
Being one of our resident Nebraska fans, I've taken it upon myself to throw together a video of Rex Burkhead's carries against arguably the 4 best teams Nebraska has played this year: Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State.
In just those 4 games, Burkhead carried the ball 101 times for 465 yards and 6 TDs on the ground, with 7 catches for 95 yards and 2 TDs.
Burkhead (aka Superman, aka Sexy Rexy) is, without a doubt, a throwback to a different time. He's the type of runner whose legs never stop churning. He does most of his damage between the tackles. He has an excellent nose for the goalline, and is the perfect back for running out the clock with a lead. He's extremely versatile, excelling as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield, as well as being the primary blocking back in passing situations (admittedly, a rarity at Nebraska). Bonus: He can run the Wildcat extremely well. He is excellent at reading the defense at the mesh point, and he has the arm to accurately complete passes out to 30 yards, having started his high school career at QB at Plano High School in Texas. I'm betting he turns in a 40 yard time in the 4.55 range, while putting up excellent numbers in the agility drills at the combine. I'd also anticipate a vertical in the 38-40" range with 20+ reps on the bench. He's regularly referred to as the best all-around lifter at Nebraska, and is considered by the strength coach and most on the team to be the quickest player they have, which really shows in his cuts on tape. He does have the "white running back" stigma to fight, but with Woodhead, Gerhart, and Hillis in the league already, that has been diminished somewhat.
I'll take some credit as being one of the first Helu advocates on this board (though I did try to temper expectations once he became a trendy sleeper pick), and I have to say, I think that Burkhead will be a better NFL back. He's likely to be a guy that you can target later in your rookie draft, as I don't anticipate him being a high NFL draft pick, so keep him on your radar in the coming year.
In just those 4 games, Burkhead carried the ball 101 times for 465 yards and 6 TDs on the ground, with 7 catches for 95 yards and 2 TDs.
Burkhead (aka Superman, aka Sexy Rexy) is, without a doubt, a throwback to a different time. He's the type of runner whose legs never stop churning. He does most of his damage between the tackles. He has an excellent nose for the goalline, and is the perfect back for running out the clock with a lead. He's extremely versatile, excelling as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield, as well as being the primary blocking back in passing situations (admittedly, a rarity at Nebraska). Bonus: He can run the Wildcat extremely well. He is excellent at reading the defense at the mesh point, and he has the arm to accurately complete passes out to 30 yards, having started his high school career at QB at Plano High School in Texas. I'm betting he turns in a 40 yard time in the 4.55 range, while putting up excellent numbers in the agility drills at the combine. I'd also anticipate a vertical in the 38-40" range with 20+ reps on the bench. He's regularly referred to as the best all-around lifter at Nebraska, and is considered by the strength coach and most on the team to be the quickest player they have, which really shows in his cuts on tape. He does have the "white running back" stigma to fight, but with Woodhead, Gerhart, and Hillis in the league already, that has been diminished somewhat.
I'll take some credit as being one of the first Helu advocates on this board (though I did try to temper expectations once he became a trendy sleeper pick), and I have to say, I think that Burkhead will be a better NFL back. He's likely to be a guy that you can target later in your rookie draft, as I don't anticipate him being a high NFL draft pick, so keep him on your radar in the coming year.