July 20, 2017
Since arriving on West End, Oren Burks has embraced the concept of student-athlete, working diligently to impact the Commodore football team and the surrounding Vanderbilt community.
The entire nation is about to know more about Vanderbilt’s amazing senior linebacker. Burks, from Fairfax Station, Va., is the focus of a cover story in the current issue of NCAA Champion magazine.
NCAA Champion story on Burks: An Impact Player
Burks, described last week as “the SEC’s most thoughtful player” by an Alabama-based writer at SEC Media Days, works hard to balance the life of an elite athlete with the desire to improve his local community and willingness to address issues confronting today’s society.
Burks has achieved plenty, on and off the field, as a Vanderbilt undergraduate.
The SEC’s Most Thoughtful Player
On the field, Burks is a defensive co-captain who has started since his freshman season as a safety, linebacker and hybrid Star safety-linebacker. A 2016 co-captain, Burks enters his final year as the team’s active leading tackler and one of its most versatile players.
This season, he is expected to replace 2016 All-America Zach Cunningham at inside linebacker. He was recently named to the media’s preseason third team All-SEC squad and is among early candidates for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
Burks: A Leader On and Off the Field
Off the field, Burks is an active participant in university activities. Besides serving as president of Vanderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) last year, he has contributed to the campus Project Safe effort and co-founded Revitalizing, Empowering Vanderbilt’s African American Male Population (REVAMP), an organization that mentors and supports black males on campus.
Burks has been recognized for his activities away from athletics. On campus, he was a finalist last year for Vanderbilt’s Outstanding Senior Award. He was named to the 2016 Allstate-American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national Good Works Team and was a finalist for the 2016 Wooden Citizenship Cup.
