West Virginia spear Aubrey Burks is one of the most experienced voices on the defense.
Burks has appeared in 30 games with 24 starts during that time including all but one due to injury over the past two seasons in the backend of the defense. He’s played a total of 1,370 snaps during those two years.
He has played multiple positions and even made the transition to spear this past spring.
It’s no surprise that Burks would be a top candidate to wear the helmet communication device on that side of the ball
“I’m pretty sure I have the mic this year because I know the defense pretty well. I’m more of a vocal guy on our defense,” Burks said.
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown has already said that he won't release who gets the responsibility and that it could depend on each individual matchup. But given Burks’ experience in the secondary and with how many new pieces are around him it makes him a prime candidate.
“Trying to get everybody in position before the play starts is something I look forward to,” he said. “Not a big task because I’m calm and collected out there, so I won’t feel like it’s any pressure on me.”
Burks already has responsibility in the role as he was the defender that had the helmet communication on the defensive side against North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game. And that took some adjusting.
Burks specifically recalled a situation where defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley told him to tell Marcis Floyd to blitz and he had to communicate that on the fly. But there’s also some adjusting with relaying the calls but also being focused on what he needs to do on every given play.
That is in addition to the sideline tablets that teams will be able to use this coming season which allows players to go over plays and actually see what is unfolding. It’s a much different experience than the marker on the board because the action is right there in front of them.
There are changes coming and it’s a responsibility that Burks would like to hold.
“Just having (Lesley) in my ears is a great advantage to me,” he said. “If he sees something I don’t then it’s helpful.”
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