Joe Burnett
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Joe Burnett (born November 28, 1986 in Eustis, Florida) is a cornerback for the University of Central Florida Knights in the NCAA college football tournament. Although not the most highly-touted prospect out of high school, Burnett was considered a catch for UCF after he burst into the scene right on his rookie year when he racked up All-Conference USA freshman team and punt return accolades. After slowing down during his sophomore year, Burnett came back strong as a junior and rose to become one of the league-leaders in interceptions while once again showcasing his athleticism and quickness after garnering a third straight first team All-CUSA honors as a punt returner.
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Personal Life
Joe is the son of Tammy Bedford. He majored in Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. Renford Parkes, a former teammate, also convinced him to major in hospitality. After his collegiate career is over, he hopes to be able to play in the NFL or work on the hotel field as a part owner.
High School
Burnett was a four-sport standout at Eustis High School in Eustis, Florida, earning four letters each in football and basketball in addition to three letters in track and one other in baseball. While playing hoops, Burnett was nominated for the McDonald's All-America game and was also a defensive player of the year not only in football but also in basketball. As a junior, the versatile Burnett rushed for 20 touchdowns and 1,300 yards on offense, recorded nine pick-offs, 68 solo tackles and 20 assists on defense, and tallied 528 kick return yards and 340 punt return yards on special teams to earn his third of four all-area first team selections for head coach Steve Moser. The following season, he collected five interceptions, 78 solo tackles and 24 assists on defense, and amassed 689 passing and 874 rushing yards on offense for the Panthers to earn regional MVP honors and a spot on the first team all-state team and on the second team Class 2A squad as a defensive back. He ended his high school career placing his name on the no.2 spot in Florida history with 31 career interceptions.
College
A three-star recruit according the Rivals.com and a two-star prospect according to Scout.com, Burnett listed UCF, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia as his schools of interest. But the No. 85 prospect in the state of Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel, decided to stay close to home and pick the Golden Knights.
2005
"Smokin' Joe" made his collegiate debut at South Carolina on a reserve role and finished the game with two tackles (one solo) in the 9-point loss to the Gamecocks. At South Florida, he got his first career start at right corner and had four tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, while also making his debut as a returner with two punt returns of 77 yards with a 60-yard return down to the USF 5-yard line. In his first home game against Marshall, he tallied six tackles (four solo) and returned three punts for 34 yards and one kickoff for 15 yards as the Golden Knights racked up win number one on a 23-13 win. At Louisiana-Lafayette, he produced seven tackles and returned 3 punts for 45 yards in the 3-point win over the Ragin' Cajuns. In UCF's third straight win over Memphis, he recorded four hits and two pass break-ups and had a season high 4 punt returns but only gained 14 yards. The team's 3-game win streak was halted at Southern Miss, with Burnett chipping in four stops in the 3-touchdown loss. Against Tulane, he intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter (one in the end zone) while deflecting another pass that was picked off by a teammate, and finishing the game with six stops to help hold off the Green Wave, 34-24. At East Carolina, he recorded seven tackles and an interception and returned 2 kickoffs for 33 yards gain as the Knights take the Pirates down, 30-20. In the 2-point escape against Houston, he was limited to a mere tackle and 13 yards gain on 2 punt returns although he made up for it by tallying four tackles, a career-high three pass break-ups, and a key interception that practically sealed the 27-21 victory at UAB. At Rice, Burnett tallied his first career score on a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown then provided another key stop in the final drive of the game with under a minute remaining in the contest when he intercepted a pass and returned it for a 48-yard gain as the Knights dealt the Owls a 31-28 beating. He also finished that game with five tackles and returned 3 punts for 82 yards.
In the Conference USA Championship Game against Tulsa, Burnett provided a spark with his 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, even finishing the game with seven tackles and a pass break-up but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to defeat the Golden Hurricane as UCF lost, 27-44. In his bowl game debut at the Hawaii Bowl, he contributed six stops and two pass break ups as the Knights lost a 48-49 heartbreaker to Nevada. He finished his rookie season as the team's third leading tackler with 63 stops, while leading the team in interceptions (5 for 99 yards return) and pass break ups (9). He also led the league and placed 6th in the nation in punt returns (16.5) and was 26th in the NCAA and second in C-USA in interceptions per game. That year, Burnett also emerged as one of the most decorated cornerbacks in the league, with the Football Writers Association of America, Rivals.com and CollegeFootballNews.com naming him as a First-team Freshman All-American, in addition to C-USA All-Conference First Team and All-Freshman Team selections as a cornerback and a punt returner.
2006
By virtue of his prolific rookie season, Burnett garnered accolades even before the season began with CBSSportsline.com naming him a Second Team Preseason All-American while also being included to the prestigious Jim Thorpe Award for the top defensive back in college football. He opened his sophomore campaign with three solo tackles, one tackle for a loss, a pass break-up, a forced fumble, and returned 2 punts for only 12 yards total gain as the Knights racked up win no.1 over Villanova. At No.7 Florida, Burnett had a good game defense-wise, tallying a career-high and a team-leading 10 takedowns (nine solo, one assist) unfortunately his production wasn't enough as the Gators shutdown the UCF offense, 0-42. In losses to USF and Southern Miss, he recorded six and 9 stops, respectively, in addition to two pass break ups, and a season high 4 punt returns for 29 yards gain against the Golden Eagles. At Marshall, Burnett contributed six hits, with 1 for a loss, and an interception which he returned for 20 yards gain to help the Knights edge the Herd by just a solitary point. After that win, UCF experienced over a month-long winless skid, with a 45 point loss to Pittsburgh, 11-point defeat to Rice, a 20-point blowout at Houston, and a 13-point setback to East Carolina. During that span, Burnett contributed seven solos against the Panthers, six hits against the Owls, before being held down to an assist against the Cougars after suffering an ankle injury which forced him to miss the ECU game. He also returned a punt for 50 yards and a kickoff for 31 yards against Rice.
He returned against Memphis but did not contribute much on a reserve role in UCF's 26-24 win. In his second game back, he returned a pair of punts for 24 yards as UCF lost a 9-10 thriller at Tulane. He also did not start in the season finale but had two stops in the 31-22 win over UAB. Despite missing a game, Burnett still tied for fifth in the team in tackles (50), was third in PBUs (3), and was named as a first team punt returner on the Conference USA Coaches' all-league team.
2007
Burnett returned all healed up for his junior year at UCF, opening the season with a 1-INT, 1-TFL, 1-PBU effort in the 25-23 win over N.C. State. Against No.6 Texas, Burnett and the rest of the Knights threw everything they got on the Longhorns with the cornerback returning 3 punts for 24 yards, intercepting a pass for the second straight game, and tallying a season best nine tackles (8 solos), but UT still manage to crawl out with a hard-fought 32-35 victory. After that defeat, UCF vented their frustrations on Memphis by beating the Tigers by 36 points, with Burnett chipping in 76 yards on 5 punt returns, and two solo tackles with 1 TFL. The team also won big at ULL, with Burnett contributing seven stops, and a pass break up in the 37-19 victory. In road losses to ECU and USF, Burnett contributed 7 and 4 hits, respectively, with two pass break ups and 2 punt returns for 21 yards against the Pirates, and a PBU against the Bulls. But those setbacks would be the last for the Knights in the regular season as they strung up seven straight victories after that. Against Tulsa, Burnett returned 3 punts for 30 yards, posted five tackles and two pass deflections in the 44-23 win over the Hurricane. In wins over Southern Miss and Marshall, he combined for 10 solo stops before turning a splendid performance in the ensuing win at UAB where he notched an interception and a 21-yard return and tallied two pass break-ups and three tackles. At SMU, he resumed his PR duties and returned four punts for 34 yards while picking off two passes, recovering a fumble, and recording four solos on defense to help UCF to a 29-point triumph over the Mustangs. At Texas-El Paso, he stole a pass for the third-straight game and finished with two tackles and a pass break-up as UCF came away with a 16-point win.
In the rematch with Tulsa at the C-USA Championship Game, Burnett came up with a big performance highlighted by a punt return for an 83-yard score before finishing the game with a season-high tying 8 solo tackles and a PBU in the 44-25 victory. At the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, he returned a season high six punts for 54 yards and had a pair of stops as the Knights lost a low-scoring 3-10 game to Mississippi State, denying Burnett of a bowl game win for the second time in three years. He finished his junior year as the team's 5th leading tackler (64 tackles), while pacing the team in interceptions (6, tied with teammate Johnell Neal and USM's Brandon Sumrall for first place in the league) and PBUs (12) in 14 games, all starts (1 of 5 defensive players to start every game). For his performance, Burnett received first team All-Conference USA honors as a punt returner for the third-consecutive season and a first team citation as a defensive back for the second time.
2008
Burnett initially decided to join "batch- and room-mate" Kevin Smith in forgoing his senior season and entering his name in the 2008 NFL Draft. However, after being projected as a fourth rounder, and after lengthy talks with his parents, Coach George O'Leary and Smith, himself, Burnett decided to go through with his last year at UCF in order to finish his career, graduate, and hopefully improve his stock for next year's draft. He enters his senior season with 12 interceptions which ranked no.2 in UCF's all-time list. He was also named into the Nagurski, Jim Thorpe and Bednarik Awards Watch Lists.
Career Stats
| Punt Return | Kickoff Return | Interception | Tackle | Tackle for Loss | Misc | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret/G | Yds/G | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret/G | Yds/G | Int | Yds | TD | Int/G | Solo | Asst | Ttl | TPG | TFL | Yds | TFL/G | PBU | QBH | FF | Blk |
| 2005 | 29 | 446 | 15.38 | 2 | 2.2 | 34.3 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5 | 99 | 0 | 0.38 | 55 | 8 | 63 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 20 | 0.19 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 11 | 132 | 12.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0.09 | 38 | 12 | 50 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2 | 0.18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 31 | 331 | 10.7 | 1 | 2.2 | 23.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 40 | 0 | 0.43 | 55 | 9 | 64 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 16 | 0.21 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Highlights
| Joe Burnett's TD off a punt return in the C-USA Championship Game against Tulsa. (2007). |
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports preseason All-Conference USA First Team (DB/PR)
- Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook Preseason All-C-USA (DB/PR)
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
- C-USA Coaches All-Conference First Team Special Teams
- C-USA Coaches Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year
- Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List
- CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason All-C-USA First Team (DB/PR)
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #4 Preseason Player in the C-USA
- Jim Thorpe Award watch list
- Lindy's preseason All-Conference USA First Team
- Lindy's No.7 CB in the nation
- Lindy's No.3 Best "NFL talent" in the C-USA
- Phil Steele Preseason All-American Fourth Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-C-USA First Team (DB/PR)
2007
- All-C-USA First Team Defense/Specialist
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-C-USA Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason All-C-USA (PR)
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #1 DB in the C-USA
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #10 Player in the C-USA
- Phil Steele All-C-USA First Team (DB/PR)
- Rivals.com Preseason All-C-USA (PR)
2006
- All-C-USA First Team Specialist
- CBSSportsline.com Preseason All-America Second Team
- Jim Thorpe Award Watch List
2005
- All-C-USA First Team Defense/Specialist
- CollegeFootballNews.com First-team Freshman All-American
- COnference USA All-Freshman Team
- Football Writers Association of America First-team Freshman All-American
- Rivals.com First-team Freshman All-American
- The Sporting News Third-team Freshman All-America
References
- Burnett to return for senior season
- Joe Burnett Central Florida Profile
- Joe Burnett CfbStats.com
- Joe Burnett Scout.com Profile
- Joe Burnett Wikipedia
- UCF Summer Football Update - Joe Burnett
- UCF's "Smokin' Joe" Burnett Gears Up For Senior Season
