WVU senior Aubrey Burks has accomplished more than the average college football safety, but in 2024 he will have to reach a similar prowess in a brand new role.
After two full seasons as the Mountaineers’ cat safety, in which he earned All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition, Burks will be moving primarily to the SPEAR in 2024. The move is part of WVU’s road to a more versatile, fluid, and unified approach for the defensive secondary, which will be coached in its entirety by ShaDon Brown this season.
Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley expects the position change to be more fitting for Burks, who will be able to use his football IQ and play “very free” at the SPEAR. For Burks, the move is an opportunity to learn and be more equipped for each situation, whether that be closer to the ball at SPEAR or in his familiar role at safety.
“I feel like as we keep going through camp and week one gets here I’ll be real comfortable for SPEAR or cat safety,” Burks said.
Ultimately, though, Burks is not concerned about how the position change may alter the unforeseeable future. His mind is fully focused on the task at hand, which, as of now, is learning to jump between SPEAR and safety and, on a greater scale, to win as many games as possible.
“As long as we take care of the business on the field and win, I feel like every individual success that each of us want on this team will all play a part, and it’ll all come together if we all work together during the season,” Burks said.
Burks keeps this mentality in several aspects of the game, whether that be in looking at future opponents, tackling different tasks in practice and camp, or discussing activities with his teammates.
“We’re talking about camp right now,” Burks said. “That’s the only thing that should be on our minds, that’s the only thing that should be on my mind is camp. Penn State will get here when they get here.”
Not even headline matchups like the Backyard Brawl distract Burks from his personal pacing. Burks says that worrying about a task that has not arrived yet distracts from another, so he locks in on each task when necessary.
“I don’t like looking ahead too much because you get carried away,” Burks said. “If I think about Pitt, I’m not worried about what we got for tomorrow’s scrimmage, so just handling it week by week and when Pitt gets here, we know what type of week that is.”
This mindset also applies with Burks’ typical routines and behaviors, which he is not letting be taken away by uncontrollable circumstances. Regardless of surrounding factors, Burks takes the steps he needs for himself one at a time.
One such routine is Burks’ meetings with safeties coach Dontae Wright, who left WVU this offseason for Troy. Though Wright is gone, Burks’ routine stays alive through SPEARs coach Tre’ Bell, as does what he seeks to gain from it.
“Every Thursday and Sunday, me and Coach Bell, so this past Sunday I went in and met with him,” Burks said. “Coach Wright’s gone, he moved on, and so Coach Bell is the new guy who’s been helping me out.”
Freshman SPEAR Zae Jennings joined Burks on his first visit with Bell, which is part of Burks’ ultimate goal to get as many young players involved and exposed to the newest level of competition as possible.
As game one against Penn State draws nearer, more will arrive on Burks’ plate for him to deal with, but as he has proven through the last three seasons, if he takes each task one at a time and gives his all in each, things will work out just fine for Aubrey Burks.
WVU opens its season against Penn State on Aug. 31 in Morgantown. The game kicks off at noon.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
