This past weekend, the University of Utah hosted Ole Miss commit Jaqwondis Burns, in hopes of flipping the talented athlete who is currently rated the no. 35 outside linebacker. Originally from Terrell, Texas, Burns chose to finish out his high school career at the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida.
Despite his commitment, he’s recently been busy on the recruiting trail.
“It’s been good, I am actually glad I took those official visits, Utah definitely got my eyes raised,” said Burns. “They got my eye, right now.”
Burns recently visited Texas before going on his Utah official visit, so it's safe to say that it’s not a sure thing that he’ll be going to Ole Miss, although he’ll trip there on December 7th.
“Definitely soft right now,” is how he described his commitment. “Basically when I’m looking for a college, I’m looking for a balance. A balance with football and academics and living in the city. I want this balance.”
Of the things he’s looking for, he found a lot of that in Salt Lake City with the Utes.
“They did things differently. They asked me what I wanted to major in. I told them some form of business and we met with some teacher and she told me what to be looking for and what she liked,” he said. “I never had a school get a whole teacher to come talk to me and my family about education before and the business is through the roof. Medical, engineering, and business are all great in those categories. Salt Lake is a good city and for the football, they actually develop players and they put dudes in the league. I just want a fair shot. Y'all got the no. 3 defense in the country right now.”
During his visit, Burns was hosted by Utah quarterback Cam Rising, and the two really hit it off.
“He was telling me why he came here and with him, he wants to play football at a high level and he was telling me why he chose Utah, he is a cool dude,” said Burns. “We hung out with the players, watched the game and had plenty of meetings with the coaches. They took me to this Brazilian place where they just brought out meat and meat until I couldn’t eat anymore. We toured campus and I hung out with Cam, a lot.”
After another dominant performance, in which the defense extended their home streak to 14 quarters without allowing a touchdown, the performance resonated with Burns.
“It’s different and I don’t know how to explain it,” he said. “Everything they did was just right and they’ve got some ballers out there.”
With the upcoming graduation of Francis Bernard and no one with much playing experience outside of their other starter Devin Lloyd, an instant impact linebacker is of high importance and his talks with the coaches really resonated with him.
“They were telling me how they want me of course and they were telling me how they are going to develop me as a player and academically,” said Burns.
A final decision will come shortly after his final trip to Ole Miss, and Burns already has the perfect idea of what he’s looking for. “I’m looking for good academic program, good football, a good city to live in.”
Stay tuned Ute Nation, with the Utes 2019 success, it’s flipping season and this one could be taken right out of SEC country.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION TODAY, with this GREAT HOLIDAY PROMO, as the Utes continue on their historic 2019 season... Oh and there are plenty more commits to come...
