Dynamic athlete Javin Burke breaks down weekend visit to Tennessee

Over the weekend, Tennessee played host to an under the radar prospect from the Chattanooga area. Javin Burke is a 6’1 194lb Athlete from Bradley Central in Cleveland, Tennessee. Burke is a multi-position star for Bradley Central, playing quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back. As we’ve seen previously, these are the type of players that coach Pruitt and staff love to recruit; multi-position athletes that know both sides of the ball very well, then figure out where they’ll play when they make it to campus. VR2 caught up with Burke in an interview to recap the visit and talk about the message from the coaching staff at Tennessee.

“The biggest takeaway was the coaches investing in the recruits and the individual meetings with the position coaches,” Burke said when asked about what stood out during the visit. This is something that a lot of kids bring up during interviews when asked about what they like.

When asked about the message from the coaches, Burke said, “They want me to buy into the program. I’m being recruited as an athlete which is fine by me, and Tennessee wants me as either a safety or slot receiver.” This is something that Pruitt likes to do with most players this staff recruits; get them to campus and find a spot that fits them best. If Burke signs with Tennessee, it’s safe to assume that the coaches will want to see him in the secondary first.

As far as his recruitment is concerned, Burke has no visits lined up at this time. However, he’s not planning to commit soon as he wants to wait and see his options going forward. “I have to keep my options open and see how it all plays out in the end,” Burke said when asked about the state of his recruitment. It would not surprise me to see other SEC schools offer Burke soon, but the appeal to play for the in-State school is there, especially in the town of Cleveland which is a little over an hour south of Knoxville. “Everyone loves it and wants me to play there, but I tell them I need to weigh my options going forward,” Burke said when asked about the reaction from locals when he received the Tennessee offer.

So it looks like Burke is in no rush to commit anywhere, and that’s probably smart on his end. Obviously, Tennessee is the home state school, and there’s the pressure to play there, but he doesn’t want to make his decision too early. Regardless, the Vols will continue to recruit him as hard as they already have to keep the in-state prospect close to home.