Burks hearing from new schools

Charles Burks has an interesting and new situation with his recruitment - an offer from USC might be possible if the Huntington Beach (Calif.) Edison defensive end can graduate early from high school.

That is the stipulation from USC so now Burks, a fierce 6-foot-1, 230-pound prospect, is figuring out his academic situation with the school district to see if it's possible to get out a semester ahead of time.

"USC basically said if I graduate early that I have a scholarship there," Burks said. "If I'm able to graduate early then coach (Ed Orgeron) said I have a scholarship to USC. It's dependent on me graduating early.

"I'm not sure if it's a possibility or not a possibility. We're talking to the district to see if I can do it. We're exploring all the options to find out if it can be done. I'm not sure if it's able to be done or not but right now we're talking to the school board and everybody trying to figure out the rules and policies and what I'd need to do."

Burks was seen multiple times by the USC staff this summer including a stop at the Rising Stars Camp where he shined especially in one-on-one drills.

A three-star recruit by Rivals.com and ranked No. 28 at weak-side defensive end and No. 58 in the California state rankings, USC was not a serious option for Burks until this unique proposition was explained to him recently - graduate early and a scholarship will be yours.

"I went to their defensive line camp and coach (Orgeron) said to come back to the Rising Stars Camp," Burks said. "I didn't get beat in any one-on-ones, and basically (Orgeron) came up to me after the camp and said, 'We really like you. Just keep in touch with me because we're really interested in you and there's a really good chance we're going to offer you.' That was all after the Rising Stars Camp.

"I'm pursuing it right now. If it's a possibility of me graduating early I'll definitely pursue it. If I can't graduate early then there's nothing I can do other than just hopefully have a big season and get an offer from them, like a regular offer."

SMU and Boise State have also offered Burks, who already had Stanford, Army, Duke, San Diego State and San Jose State on his offer list. The Cardinal have been a favorite but lots is happening in Burks' recruitment. He has talked extensively with SMU offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and now the Mustangs are in the mix.

"I'm still getting to know about SMU," Burks said. "I'm talking to coach Klemm. He's recruiting me. I'm getting to know them better. I'm getting to know more about their school and their program.

"I talked to coach Klemm about two weeks ago and he basically said they were going to offer me but they didn't have a spot for me and then I called to check in with him and he said the head coach loved my film and they wanted to offer me and they're making a spot for me. He said after seeing my tape and evaluating me they wanted to offer me."

Burks made a trip to Boise State this summer and although the Broncos' staff informed him they don't have any spots at defensive end, they are interested in him as a hybrid linebacker. Boise State recently told Burks' coach that it would like to offer him so now Burks has another option to consider in his recruitment.

"I went up there for their camp early in the summer and I did really well up there, I got defensive line MVP," Burks said. "After the camp coach (Chris) Petersen basically said they were full at defensive line and that's where they were looking to offer me.

"He wanted me to keep in touch with them and if anything opened up they'd let me know. They talked to my head coach and said they were looking at me to play hybrid linebacker. My coach was talking to them and they said they were interested in offering me as a linebacker."