Player: Different roles taught Burnett howto study game
■ Continued from Page 2B
denced by the state championship he
earned as a part of the 4x200-meter relay
team at his Colorado high school, Burnett
knows how to run.
"His quickness is his greatest ability," Ari
zona head coach DickTomey said. "That al
lows him to get to the ball and make the
play. That is so important because our de
fense basically relies on the linebacker to
make the tackle."
His speed has also allowed Burnett to stay
in during specialty situations that would
normally require linebackers to come out of
the game. For Burnett, it gives him a chance
to get more tackles and make more plays. It
also means more time in the film room.
"I spend every spare moment watching
film," Burnett said. "Knowing every little
tendency my opponents have makes me so
much more effective."
While he has always considered prepara
tion important, Burnett said he actually be
came a student of the game because he had
to play so many roles. It was after a 31-17
loss to Washington, before the Week 5 meet
ing with Washington State, when Burnett
was asked to carry an extra load. He re
sponded with 13 tackles and a sack. It was
then he decided what he needed to do.
"I was a good player, but I knew I could
become better if I really put my mind to it,"
Burnett said. "I start my preparation the sec
ond after the last game ends. I really focus
my energies on the game."
Burnett has brought not only a physical
and mental attitude to the field, but also a
steady presence. He has stayed relatively
healthy this season in a sea of injuries. In
fact, after redshirting the 1994 season with a
shoulder injury, Burnett has been one of
steadiest things about the Arizona defense.
"The fact that he has played without in
jury all year has been tremendous," Tomey
said. "He has been doing what he is sup
posed to do."
As one of the few Wildcat recruits outside
of Arizona and California, Burnett is a Den
ver native who played at Mullen High, a
known football powerhouse. He played
with Cal's Brandon Willis and Miami quar
terback Ryan Clement.
Burnett said he was initially forced to at
tend the private school by his mother rather
than attend his neighborhood school. He
also said that changed his life. He not only
had to concentrate on his studies, but he
also met his high school football coach, a
man who helped give him a positive male
role model — Burnett's father died when he
was 12 years old.
"That was the best thing that could have
happened to me," Burnett said. "It taught me
work ethic, it taught me how to be coach
able. It also taught me how to think for my
self and to think ahead."
And thinking ahead is what has made the
game so easy for "Chess".
EXCERPTS FROM: „
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Anyway, this is America... we’ll always have enough.
Hey, I really don’t have time for this ...
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Show your student I.D. and ride anywhere the bus goes.
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DeYoung: Exciting
games may have to
be good enough this
season
■ Continued from Page 1B
This is the time when players
like Josh Wilcox challenge their
teammates “to look themselves
in the mirror and say ‘What can I
do to help the team win?’” For se
niors like Wilcox, these next
three games mean everything.
The bowl games were nice, but it
all matters how you go out.
Head coach Mike Bellotti, who
guaranteed three wins to finish
out the season, knows that in a
year like this, the way the season
ends is crucial.
“It matters much more how
you finish than how you start,”
he said. “If you finish well I think
you can take pride in what
you’ve done, and we’re really
working hard toward that.”
Fans would love to see the
Ducks finish with a three-game
winning streak. After all, they
have been spoiled the last two
seasons with exciting games and
runs at the conference champi
onship. People came out to the
games to see players like Jeremy
Asher, Chad Cota, Alex Molden,
Rich Ruhl, Danny O’Neil, Ricky
Whittle and Cristin McLemore.
These players may all be gone,
but there are new ones who want
to kick Arizona’s ass this week
end. They want to play an excit
ing game, and they want to go 3-0
in the next three games.
The offense is set to break
records this season. They may
not be winning, but if scoring
makes a good game then the
Ducks have had some great ones.
Two overtime games, two games
scoring more than 40 points and
every game scoring at least two
touchdowns — what else can
you ask for?
Wins. Plain and simple. The
team is asking for them, too. And
inevitably that will be the only
thing that will make everybody
happy.
The seniors, who are playing
their last football games as
Ducks, want to win. The fans,
who for the most part have stuck
by Oregon’s side, want to see the
Ducks win. The only ones who
don’t want to see Oregon win are
the Wildcats.
With so little on the line this
weekend, the Ducks could roll
over and die. Or they could go
out and play another exciting
game just like they have played
all season long.
My money is on the latter.
Andrea DeYoung is the assistant
sports editor for the Oregon Dai
ly Emerald. Her views do not nec
essarily reflect those of the paper.