BEAVERTON, Ore. - Over the next few months Brandon Burton, a four-star defensive back from Gardena, Calif., will wind down the recruiting process with official visits. He plans to take all five of those trips before a decision near the end of his season.
Those game day trips will be important coupled with some other factors.
“Education, early playing time and a place I want to live at,” Burton said. “Outside the football season, you’ve got to be around these people in the community and in your locker room. You have to feel right being around those types of people.”
Burton is working with a short list of Alabama, Arizona, Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and UCLA.
Official visits are shaping up to Ohio State (Sept. 12), Oklahoma (Oct. 3), Florida State (Oct. 10), Notre Dame (Oct. 17) and Alabama (Nov. 7). Burton plans to visit Arizona next week and will likely take an unofficial to UCLA.
Notre Dame has been pushing with Burton for awhile, including last month during a camp in the area. Brian Kelly, Mike Denbrock and Brian VanGorder all watched Burton at Sound Mind, Sound Body camp outside Detroit.
“They’re so persistent,” Burton said. “They’ve been coming after me. I have a good relationship with coach Denbrock and coach VanGorder and I’m starting to get a real good relationship with coach Kelly.”
Kelly has talked with Burton about what he can expect at Notre Dame in terms of opportunities.
“I could come in and play early in my career,” Burton said. “I could come through and play both sides of the ball and play the best I can.”
Burton plans to stick with the plan of taking all five official visits before coming to a decision.
He’s spent most of this summer around the camp circuit between attending one of The Opening Regionals, the Sound Mind, Sound Body Camp and then The Opening Finals. Getting in some work at different stops along the way should be a positive during the coming season, Burton believes.
“It benefits you because you see what it takes to become the best,” Burton said. “You bring it back to your school to make the people around you the best. Being on these camp circuits really showed me the people and how they work and how you’re really supposed to become better. I wanna bring that back and translate it to the guys at my school to make my team better.”
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