4-star Texas commit visits AU

When four-star receiver and Texas commit John Burt of Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln wanted to take his official visit to Austin for the Longhorns' game against Baylor, he said he was told to wait until closer to bowl season to visit. So Burt used that weekend to instead visit Auburn for its game against LSU.

How critical that weekend ultimately ends up being for Burt's recruitment remains to be seen, but Auburn certainly seized its opportunity to make the 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver reconsider his commitment to the Longhorns.

"I'm committed to Texas right now but I am considering Auburn to an extent," Burt said. "To what extent, I'm not exactly sure."

While on the Auburn visit, Burt spent time with Tigers quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who is in line to take over after senior Nick Marshall graduates.

"He'll probably be the starting quarterback if I go there," Burt said. "So they put me up with him and we got to talk and get to know each other. It went pretty good. Aside from him being a pretty good quarterback, he's a cool guy to hang around with, like the other guys."

Burt also said the Tigers coaching staff gave him some food for thought should he decide to go to Auburn.

"What they've told me is their top three receivers, D'haquille Williams, Sammie Coates and Quan Bray are all probably leaving," Burt said. "They say as long as I go in and know what to do, I have a chance to probably start as a freshman."

As for wanting to visit Texas for its game against Baylor, Burt said the staff had other plans.

"We had planned to go to the Baylor game," Burt said. "But after talking with the coaches, they said they'd like me to go there during bowl preparation season, later in the year. They said it would give them a better opportunity to talk with me one-on-one and that sort of thing."

Burt said he understood that reasoning and didn't have a problem with it.

"It made sense when I heard it because they told me this and talked to my parents about it," he said. "I didn't feel any sort of way about it but it did make me realize it would be a long time before I'd be out there."

How long exactly will the wait be before Burt visits Austin? There's no set date for him to officially visit. He said he'd like to catch a game this season but even that's up in the air.

"At this point, I don't have any plans to visit," Burt said. "I'm looking at the schedule and I guess the only game I'd be able to get to is the TCU game at the end of the year (the Longhorns' final game, on Thur., Nov. 27), and that depends on if my team is in the playoffs. If we're still playing, I don't know how it would be possible to get there."

Lincoln is currently 5-1 and on track to make a state playoff run.

The Longhorns' staff remains in constant contact with Burt - at least once a week, he estimates - and they, like Auburn, assure him the possibility of early playing time. Burt also has his grandmother and aunt in Texas, but that won't be a driving force in Burt's final decision, he said.

"They're family and they'll support me wherever I go," Burt said.

Meanwhile, Auburn is just 3.5 hours away from his home and it would be easier for most of his family to see him there.

"That's just a fact," he said, adding that he may catch another game this season.

Burt wouldn't put a percentage on how committed he is to Texas, or how much of a chance Auburn had to flip his commitment, and he's not sure when he'll come to his final decision.

"Just whenever I get the feeling," he said.

Through six games, Burt has 7 touchdown receptions and 17 catches for roughly 500 yards.