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Early attention for Burgess

DAVIE, Fla. - One position in the Sunshine State waiting for names to emerge on the national scene is linebacker. An early candidate to be a top linebacker target is Homestead (Fla.) linebacker James Burgess Jr.. The 6-foot, 200-pounds displayed good athleticism and coverage skills during Sunday's Miami Under Armour Combine at the Miami Dolphin Training Facility in Davie, Fla.
Early on, Burgess, the son of a former Miami Hurricane player by the same name, has mentioned heavy interest from Florida, LSU, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and South Florida. He talked about the main schools involved with him at this point.
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"Mainly I am being recruited by the Florida schools, not so much the out-of-state schools," Burgess said. "I have being hearing from UM, Florida State, Florida, USF, and North Carolina State. Nothing too far away right now. I am just basically getting to know them."
So far, two schools have tried to lure him on campus with no success.
"I got invited to Miami and LSU's Junior Day," Burgess said. "LSU is kind of far away. I will making one of the Junior Day at Miami, but I couldn't today because of the camp."
Burgess has yet to make it to Coral Gables since the coaching transition from Randy Shannon to Al Golden occurred, but he has had an opportunity to meet and speak with the new staff.
"I have met all of the coaches," Burgess said. "I always talk to (Coach) Micheal Barrow because he is from Homestead. I like the coaches. I talked to them like two weeks ago."
He has high hopes that Golden and company will have success with the Miami program.
"I just hope everything works out for the best for those coaches," Burgess said. "I hope everybody gets that chemistry back and that swagger back."
While Burgess admits to a strong affinity for the Hurricanes, he said he will evaluate the recruiting process and won't rush into a decision.
"I want to look at schools, see where things fall," Burgess said. "Everybody loves the 'U'. I grew up watching them. I know a lot about them. They mean a lot to me. But I have to talk everything over and make the right decision for me."
As a junior, Burgess racked up 132 tackles.
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