With the way college football is played these days, a team can never have enough depth and experience at defensive back.
Georgia Tech added a big piece that helps them in both of those categories via the transfer portal back in January as Warren Burrell joined the team after several impactful years with the Tennessee Volunteers.
Burrell said he hadn’t ever really thought about Georgia Tech as an option for him going back to high school, admitting that his visit before deciding to transfer to The Flats was the first time he had ever been on campus. But his connections to the program, including his former high school head coach at North Gwinnett, Bill Stewart, who is now a senior defensive analyst and recruiting specialist on staff with the Jackets, as well as Tech’s director of football strength and performance, A.J. Artis, and associate director of football strength and performance, Byron Jerideau, working with him previously at Tennessee opened the door for him to give the school a closer look.
"I'm from here so obviously I was at home during that whole recruiting process. I had a couple visits and everything lined up. I had a whole plan on what I wanted to do. And I have some connections up here as far as Coach Stewart, my old high school head coach, A.J. Artis, Byron, those guys were my strength coaches at Tennessee,” said Burrell. “So I got a call from one of my high school coaches, talking about Georgia Tech, staying at home, this and that. And that kind of put it in my mind. After that, I was hit up by Coach Stewart, A.J. and those guys, and I decided I'm here so I might as well take a visit and come up here and see what everyone was talking about. The crazy part is as long as I've lived here, I've never taken a visit to Georgia Tech. I've never been on this campus before. That was my first time. When I came up here, it was amazing. I love the city of Atlanta. To have a campus right here in the middle of it was just really cool to kind of see it.
“And then from a football aspect, it's a team that's on the rise. Everything about this team is trending upwards. I believe in myself enough to help give that boost. So everything kind of checked all the boxes so it made sense."
Between the 2021-2023 seasons, Burrell played in 40 games with the Volunteers and started 22 of those as he racked up 89 total tackles, nine pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery. Georgia Tech defensive backs coach Cory Peoples, who is also in his first year with the program after spending the last four seasons as an assistant at Georgia State, said Burrell has come in and made his presence felt immediately in the defensive back room.
"We have a lot of great depth at the cornerback position. (Warren) has grown and he has made a lot of plays for us so far since spring,” said Peoples. “He is a long, rangy and smart guy who understands the game with a great I.Q. Warren is doing well.”
Those smarts that Peoples mentioned are demonstrated easily by the fact that Burrell has already earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and a master’s degree in agricultural leadership, education and communications from Tennessee and is now working on a master’s in business administration at Georgia Tech.
Burrell has quickly become part of the “brotherhood” as he calls it with the other defensive backs in his short time with the team, and his connection with Ahmari Harvey, who is expected to team with Burrell as two of the top corners this season, has been undeniable as they aim to complement each other well on the field.
"Ahmari, that's my dog, man. I'll go back to Ahmari, but that whole DB room since I got up here, there's been nothing but open arms. They welcomed me in. It's been a brotherhood ever since I stepped in here, and I really appreciate them for that,” said Burrell. “Back to Ahmari, that's my dog. I'd go to war for Ahmari. That's what we're going to do. Every day, it's been close since I got here so that's my brother."
Another part of Burrell’s game that the Georgia Tech staff has to be thrilled about is his willingness to do whatever he needs to do to contribute to the team’s success. While veteran starters on either side of the ball sometimes shy away from playing on special teams units, Burrell said he takes pride in being out there with those groups and that goes back to his days at Tennessee.
"I like special teams. That's something I've got to give credit to the coaches I had up there at Tennessee for as well,” said Burrell. “I was lucky enough to have a great coach in Coach (Mike) Ekeler, shout out to him back at Tennessee, that really emphasized special teams, and really gave me the perspective of the importance of it. It doesn't matter how good you play on offense or defense, special teams will lose or win you a game. So that's something that I always try to take pride in regardless of where I'm at on it. That's an opportunity to make a play so you've always got to take advantage of those."
Burrell and his teammates close out preseason camp this weekend and will then get into their more normal game-prep routine leading up to the season opener vs. Florida State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland at noon on Aug. 24. The redshirt-senior said he is looking forward to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in a game like that and is planning on making the most of it.
"It's exciting,” said Burrell. “When I was first hearing about it, I was confused because I didn't think there were too many football fans out there. I guess that's just my own thoughts. But it's crazy to see that the game's sold out so it's going to be a big prime time game. Either way we're playing Florida State. That's a good team.
“But just being able to go and have that experience across the world and do something like that. It's really cool. It's something you tell your kids about. So I plan to take full advantage and do everything I can to help us get a dub."
