Burkes sets up first visit

Although the season opener didn't go the way he had hoped, Phoenix (Ariz.) Moon Valley offensive lineman Javario Burkes still has plenty to smile about. He's one of the nation's top recruits at his position and is sitting on over 40 scholarship offers right now.

Moon Valley was drilled 33-0 in the team's opener last weekend against Sabino, Tucson. Still according to Moon Valley coach Roger Britson, Burkes did just fine.

"He played really well," Britson said. "He's a lot stronger than last year and is so athletic, he's really going to have a big year for us. He's going to play a lot of defense for us this year too and really won't be leaving the field much. He's in shape for it though and in years past, he always got better as the season went on so by the middle of the year, it should be fun to watch him."

Burkes, 6-5, 315 pounds has all the tools to be a big time player at the next level. He has great size, long arms and very good feet. He's only played football for two years prior to this season and his upside is off the charts.

On the recruiting front, Burkes recently set up his first official visit and has two others in mind as well.

"He's going to Nebraska (Oct. 20) when they play Texas," Britson said. "We took an unofficial visit there in the summer and he just fell in love with the place. He's taking his mom with him and is really excited about Nebraska right now, that's probably his favorite school.

"I've heard that they really do a lot of fun things on the visit to make it special for the recruits like chant their names and bring them on the field. It should be a great time for him. He's also going to set trips to Georgia and Tennessee. Those three schools are for sure going to get visits but after that, he has a wide list of schools he's still looking at."

Burkes mentioned a few of the other schools still on his list.

"I'll probably take unofficial visits to Arizona and Arizona State," Burkes said. "Both are close enough to home where I don't need to use an official visit. I'm also looking at Oregon, Oregon State, Michigan and Colorado. I would like to take all five visits before making a decision but I know that's hard to do so I'll just play everything by ear."