Aug. 13, 2010
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Sooner or later, Jabo Burrow knew he’d be on the other side of the trenches.
Now instead of trying to stuff running backs, he’s clearing paths for them across the line of scrimmage. The former defensive tackle, after a major gain in bulk over the last year, has moved over to offensive guard and Vanderbilt coaches expect him to be a valuable contributor in the upcoming season.
“I think I was kind of meant to play O-line,” Burrow said. “I’ve just never been big enough until now.”
Burrow was recruited to play defense and arrived two years ago at 228 pounds. Big, to be sure, but not enough to play on the offensive line. Now, he weighs in at 284 and looks like the de facto starter at right guard.
“Last winter, that was when I really started getting my weight up,” Burrow said. “And that’s when (the coaches) approached me and told me that was in their plans and I kind of knew from the beginning that it was going to happen. It was just a matter of time, finally got physically ready so that’s when I made the change.”
Now, Burrow is showing he’s ready to see game action after scouting the past two seasons. In Vanderbilt’s practice open to the public on August 8, Burrow delivered a huge block on just the second play of an 11-on-11 scrimmage that opened up a wide running lane.
“Just getting in and actually hitting some people, it’s been really nice,” Burrow said.
Burrow also has experienced mentors on his side, one who just entered the picture and one who’s been there all his life. The former is new offensive line coach Herb Hand, and the latter is his own father, Mike Burrow, who was an All-Southeastern Conference offensive lineman at Auburn and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1979.
Like Burrow, Hand is also a bit of a newcomer, although not to his position. Before being hired by the Commodores in August, Hand was the coordinator of one of the most productive offenses in the nation at Tulsa from 2007-2009; prior to that he spent six years coaching tight ends under Rich Rodriguez’s explosive spread offense at West Virginia.
Given that pedigree, Hand’s endorsement of Burrow’s raw abilities means something extra.
“He’s very athletic, got good feet which obviously will suit him well on the offensive line,” Hand said. “I think he’s got some toughness, some physicality about him, which obviously to play anywhere on the interior, you’ve got to have that. The big thing with him right now is as he gains more confidence in what he’s doing, he’ll be able to really draw from the athleticism and physicality of his play.”
Seeing as every opening day starter from a year ago on the front five is gone, Burrow might have to gain that confidence quickly.
“He wants to be a contributor to what we’re doing, and we’re relying on him,” Hand said. “Because we are so young up front, not only do we think he’s going to be a big-time player for us or big factor for us, he has to be a big factor for us.”
