The Beginning of the Journey: Parents Perspective (Fred & Evay Burrell)
College football recruiting has its ups and downs, which goes for the high school prospects, their parents and the respective college coaches. The excitement of being recruited starts to dwindle for some prospects as the recruiting season moves forward and very often you will hear prospects who have reached that point of making their college commitment/decision, that they are glad that the process is over … albeit exciting at the initial stages of the process (e.g., calls from coaches, in-home/in-school visits, unofficial/official visits to colleges, various camps, Twitter conversations, etc.).
Then there’s the parent's perspective, where they are almost as involved as the recruit himself and they too are glad that process has come to a close.
In the case of Fred & Evay Burrell, you can multiply that by two, because they are the parents of 2021 Rivals 3-Star prospects and identical twins, Jordan Burrell and Josh Burrell.
When it was time to make their college decision, Jordan decided on Army West Point, while Josh committed to Florida State.
Inside The Huddle
Both players are closing out their frosh year and looking to make some noise this spring.
When it comes to this upcoming spring, Jordan will surely have an opportunity to make an imprint and if you listen to Army Defensive Coordinator Nate Woody, the current freshman has plenty of upsides.
“Jordan is an outstanding fit, diligent working, and is committed to all the things of West Point,” declared Woody in his conversation with GoBlackKnights.com.
“He’s smart, works hard in the weight room and I am anxious to see how he does this spring.”
"By the way, just knowing that Jordan is attending West Point and a future Army leader makes me feel good," added Woody.
According to the DC, Jordan is bigger in size than when he first made his way to the academy as part of the 2021 recruiting class. Although he is listed at the strong safety position, his size may allow him to line up in other positions.
Meaning, he could also receive reps at free safety, whereby he may drop down in the box.
Needless to say, there is experience, as well as young talent at the strong safety spot, which of course is lead by 2021 Co-Captain Marquel Broughton, who returns. However, we don’t expect that the staff needs to see too much of No. 20 this spring, so this will open up the door for Jordan to receive springtime reps at that spot, along with Quindrelin Hammonds and Adam Cash.
According to Ira Schoffel, who is the Managing Editor over at Warchant.com the Rivals site that covers Florida State, there is optimism around Josh's potential.
“There were high hopes for Joshua coming into the 2021 season because of how impressive he was during the recruiting process and last spring as an early enrollee,” said Schoffel.
“During the recruiting process, several members of his signing class singled Joshua out for being a great leader and for constantly communicating with the other players. They say he showed impressive leadership skills. Then shortly after arriving on campus that January, he blew teammates and coaches away with how strong he is in the weight room. He put up some monster numbers on the squat and other exercises, and then he showed some nice flashes in spring drills.”
“But he went down with a season-ending injury during preseason camp and spent the majority of the season (appeared in the first two games of the year) with his foot in a boot,” added Schoffel. “He has since been cleared to practice and will be competing for playing time in a suddenly crowded receiver room.”
Let's check out GBK's Analyst & Writer Joe Iacono and Parents' Perspective conversation with Jordan and Josh's parents, Fred & Evay Burrell.
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