Carolina CB visits schools to offer

Cornerback Kendrick Burney out of Jacksonville (N.C.) Southwest Onslow recently took three junior day visits to the three schools that have offered him.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder with an impressive 4.4-second 40-yard dash slowed down enough to make trips to Duke, East Carolina and North Carolina's junior days.

"He's been visiting in-state schools a lot," said head coach Phil Padgett. "I'll be honest; he thought the Duke facilities were really nice. North Carolina he was impressed with the football stadium, facilities and basketball team too. East Carolina he liked a lot because he's a big baseball guy, and I know he wants to play football and baseball in college."

Burney has also received plenty of interest from out of state schools including Ohio State, Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan State and Maryland.

"He's the best athlete I've ever coached, he's just a tremendous athlete in any sport really," he said. "He can do anything in football; he can be a quarterback, wide receiver, and cornerback. He has speed, hands, quickness, strength and intelligence. He even set the all-time record for career interceptions in school history.

"I've been here 23 years and I've seen two kids go to the NFL, a couple to Arena and such and this school has been successful, but Burney is one of the best or possibly the best player I've coached, which means he's pretty darn good."

As for what position he'll play in college, Padgett believes he's in the secondary.

"He's a tremendous cornerback," he said. "I think without a doubt, that's where he'll play, he's a prototype cornerback, but he could also play split end with his tremendous hands."

This season Burney posted 900 yards rushing, 700 yards passing and picked off four interceptions as he helped Southwest Onslow to back-to-back state championships, he was also MVP on the team last year.

"In big games, Kendrick stood out," he said. "A lot of guys get big stats in meaningless games, but he does it in crunch time."

With baseball this spring, Burney appears to only have one potential combine scheduled which is the Shrine Bowl Triad Combine in May.

As for this summer, Burney plans to attend a lot of one day camps at East Carolina, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and some yet to be determined out of state schools.