Nov. 30, 2016
Birmingham – Oren Burks has been superb on and off the football field during his three-year career with the Commodores. Today, the Southeastern Conference acknowledged Burks’ off-the-field contributions by including the defensive standout on its SEC Football Community Service Team.
Burks, who was named to the Allstate-American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national FBS Good Works Team in late September, has been extremely active with the Vanderbilt student population and in the Nashville community since arriving on campus in 2013.
This year, Burks is serving as the current president of Vanderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and continues to serve as project director for REVAMP (Revitalizing & Empowering Vanderbilt’s African-American Male Population), which was voted the top new student organization on campus for the 2015-16 school year.
Away from school activities, he has contributed time to numerous community efforts, from co-organizing a Soles-4-Souls shoe drive before the season opener against South Carolina to aiding environmental efforts and visiting ailing youngsters at Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
Burks, whose activities was recognized by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey during this address to media at Media Days in July, will be honored by Allstate during Sugar Bowl weekend festivities in late December for his Good Works Team inclusion. He was also a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy, another award given for exceptional community, athletic and academic performance.
This year, Burks helped the Commodores to a 6-6 record and postseason bowl eligibility by switching from safety to Head Coach Derek Mason’s featured “Star” position, a linebacker-safety hybrid designed to create havoc for opposing offenses. Burks finished the regular season with 38 solo tackles, 56 total takles, 6.5 tackles for loss3.5 quarterback sacks, an interception return and team-high five quarterback hurries.
For his Commodore career, Burks has amassed 152 total tackles, four interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.
Joining Burks on the SEC Football Community Service Team are O.J. Howard of Alabama, Brooks Ellis of Arkansas, Daniel Carlson of Auburn, Jarrad Davis of Florida, Jeb Blazevich of Georgia, Courtney Love of Kentucky, Danny Etling of LSU, Evan Engram of Ole Miss, Brandon Holloway of Mississippi State, Michael Scherer of Missouri, Elliott Fry of South Carolina, LaTroy Lewis of Tennessee and Trevor Knight of Texas A&M.
