Schools already calling Burton

Muskogee, Okla., was one of the top ranked teams in the state of Oklahoma heading into the season. But just like in college football rankings some times don't always pan out. Just ask defensive end Derek Burton about that.

"We were beat by Rogers, Ark.," Burton, who is a four-star defensive end, said. "We just made too many mistakes. It was 28-21. I guess I did all right, but we still lost. I had a sack and six or seven tackles."

Up next is a chance to rebound against another one of the state's top programs – Tulsa Booker T. Washington.

"I don't know much about them yet," Burton, who is 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, said. "But I know they're always good and they're always fast."

Burton is one of the more heavily recruited players in Oklahoma. He has already heard from four Division I schools on the phone in September.

"I heard first from Tulsa and coach (Matt) Wells and coach (Steve) Kraigthorpe," Burton said. "I've also talked to coach (Jackie) Shipp at OU and coach (Nelson) Barnes at OSU. The defensive end coach at Tennessee (Steve Caldwell) also called me, too."

Burton said only one school has been pushing him to make a commitment – Oklahoma State.

"Coach Barnes is a cool guy," Burton said. "All the other coaches have told me that they don't mind if I take my time. Coach Barnes tries to get me to commit more than anybody else. He always tells me, 'you know you can commit at any time now.' We have a lot of good talks."

Burton said he's also built a good relationship with Shipp.

"Coach Shipp is cool, too," he said. "We just talk about things other than football."

Burton said he's not ready to line up visits or even think about committing at this point. He did say he watched some football this weekend, including the Sooners' loss to TCU.

"I was surprised," Burton said. "You couldn't tell me that they were going to be as good as they were last year, because it's tough to replace all those good players that went to the NFL. But I didn't think they'd lose to TCU, though. They look like they have a problem at quarterback, and I hope they turn it around.

"I also watched the TU game against Minnesota. That running back at Minnesota really ran right over them."