Jan. 25, 2018
Former Commodore Oren Burks is headed to the Reese’s Senior Bowl after being added to the South Team’s roster late yesterday. He becomes the 43rd Commodore to participate in the Senior Bowl and first since Will Holden in 2017.
Burks wrapped up a stellar career at Vanderbilt last fall with a career-best 82 tackles after moving to inside linebacker. The Fairfax Station, Va. native proved his versatility again in 2017 picking off a pass, breaking up three passes and recovering a fumble. Burks moved all over the field during his tenure with the Dores, beginning his career as a safety in his first two seasons before moving to a hybrid safety/linebacker position as a junior and finally settling into the middle of head coach Derek Mason’s defense last season.
As impressive as Burks’ career has been on the gridiron, he’s been equally impressive off it. He is a past president of Vanderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and co-founded and coordinated events for REVAMP (Revitalizing & Empowering Vanderbilt’s African-American Male Population), a campus organization. He was a member of the 2016 Allstate Good Works team, a contender for the Wuerffel Award and a finalist for the Wooden Citizenship Cup in the same year. This past summer he graced the cover of the NCAA’s Champion magazine and was featured in a story heralding him for taking on societal issues.
Burks will wear No. 53 and be coached by the Houston Texans’ staff, including head coach Bill O’Brien. O’Brien and the Texans drafted former Commodore and Burks’ teammate Zach Cunningham last April in the second round.
The Reese’s Senior Bowl is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday inside Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. on NFL Network.
Commodores in the Senior Bowl
2017 Will Holden, offensive tackle
2012 Casey Hayward, defensive back
2010 Thomas Welch, offensive tackle
2008 Chris Williams, offensive tackle
2006 Jay Cutler, quarterback
2005 Justin Geisinger, offensive guard
1997 Jamie Duncan, linebacker
1997 Corey Chavous, defensive back
1994 Gerald Collins, linebacker
1991 Corey Harris, running back
1989 Steve Law, defensive back
1985 Will Wolford, offensive guard
1984 Ricky Anderson, punter
1984 Rob Monaco, offensive tackle
1983 Leonard Coleman, defensive back
1982 Jim Arnold, punter
1981 Ken Hammond, offensive guard
1979 Preston Brown, wide receiver
1978 Martin Cox, wide receiver
1975 Jay Chesley, defensive back
1973 Doug Nettles, defensive back
1970 Bob Asher, offensive tackle
1969 Chip Healy, linebacker
1968 Bob Goodridge, wide receiver
1960 Ben Donnell, center
1960 Tom Moore, running back
1959 George Deiderich, offensive guard
1958 Phil King, running back
1956 Tommy Harkins, end
1955 Bobby Goodall, guard
1953 Bob Hines, end
1953 Ben Roderick, end
1953 Mickey Lakes, back
1952 Ted Kirkland, end
1952 Bill Wade, quarterback
1952 Bob Werckle, tackle
1951 Bucky Curtis, end
1951 Russ Faulkinberry, tackle
1950 Van Brown, guard
1950 Carl Copp, tackle
1950 Herb Rich, running back
1950 Jamie Wade, quarterback
