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Question: Your role changed last year early in the season and you ended up getting more playing time than you might have expected going in with Aaron Clark’s injury. How would you assess your play last year, particularly given that the situation ended differently than what you would have otherwise expected?
Burrell: Going into last spring Aaron and I knew we both were battling for the outside linebacker spot and our thing every day was just competing and working hard to get better. I think we made each other much better players throughout the spring and throughout the summer camp. Then with his unfortunate injury early in the season, the first game, I just really knew that I had to step up and take hold of the position. I got a lot of positive response from Aaron, he was always there for me and helped in any way he could. I just knew I had to step up, being a younger linebacker on the team, and that I just had to relax and do everything I could. I got real comfortable due to the linebackers that were out there. Their leadership on the team was tremendous, and I felt like that was a big part of me being able to perform out there on the field with them.
Question: How comforting was it to you as a first-time starter last year to have older, more experienced players such as Jon Copper, Antonio Appleby and Clint Sintim out there to give you some direction?
Burrell: It was real comforting; between them there were hundreds of tackles and sacks. They had been in the system for so long it was real comforting. Even out on the field, on the practice field and everyday you see them as the leaders of the team and to be able to be out there with three major leaders on the team was second to none. It was very, very amazing and I was able to further my game and it just gave me more time to really sit back and work on my game and work on things like footwork and little things that can get me better.
Question: This year the roles have kind of reversed to where you’re the experienced player in the linebackers group. Is it the case that now you have to coach some of these younger players?
Burrell: It’s interesting how I can go from one of the middlemen to one of the elders in a matter of months. I’ve basically just taken on the same things that Clint and them did for us, preaching teamwork and things like that, and really just talking about the competition and how spring is all about competition and those spots are set.
It’s time for you to become better as a player and to work on footwork and things that you feel that you feel are lacking in your game. Between me and Aaron Clark and everybody else out there, we just keep constantly talking and reiterating the fact that it’s just competition, work hard every play, play it just like every play is your last. You never know when things happen, obviously. I went down with a knee injury one year and Aaron Clark went down once, so you can’t take any snaps for granted. That is what we try to preach everyday because you never know when it’ll be your last snap and you just want to play them all to the best of your ability.
Question: Now you’ve got a new coach this year in Bob Trott. What is it like to be playing for him this year?
Burrell: I think a lot of the linebackers really like Coach Trott; we’ve taken a real liking to him. Coming from an NFL system, he is a great coach. What he does is, he tells you what you need to know and he is not a super in-your-face-guy. I think that helps, especially a lot of the younger linebackers. They’re not really nervous to make mistakes out there and being more comfortable I think theyre able to play to the best of their abilities. He really just tells you what you need to know and he gets you to think smart like a football player and that’s what we need. We work on so much footwork, technique and hands right now, which I think is one of the biggest things for an outside linebacker. The drills he sets up and how he carries us during practice, and carries himself, is second to none. I think he has done a really good job to just step in here and take over the linebackers like he has.
Question: What were some of the things you wanted to work on this spring, and how do you think you’ve progressed in that effort to improve yourself during the spring?
Burrell: I think some of my biggest things are footwork and hands, the use of hands. At outside linebacker it’s so important to have good footwork whether you’re rerouting or trying to lock out tight ends on the line of scrimmage. I feel like those are the two things that needed the most work and I feel like those are the two things that have definitely gotten the most work during this spring. Due to a lot of drills that we do now, there is so much emphasis placed on hand placement and the use of hands. Coach Trott always says we work out, we bench press for a reason, you might as well use it. That is obviously what we’re doing now. I think it’s helped my game a lot and I feel like it could be something that is going to be very useful during the season.
Question: Last year Clint Sintim was the player that provided a lot of pass rush from the outside linebacker spot. Do you see that as something that is going to be your role this year or is it going to fall to someone else?
Burrell: Right now I guess you can’t say. We’re all working to be a great pass rushers as well as great in coverage and everything like that, but it’s too early to tell. I feel like we’re all working on the things that we needed to work on this year to become better and I feel like our pass rushing has been one of them. Obviously losing a home run hitter like Clint who can just excite the crowd in one play, it’s definitely going to be difficult to replace him, but we’ve been working this spring to replace all the sacks that we’re going to be missing from him.
Question: What gets you more excited, making a sack or getting an interception?
Burrell: Honestly, I think I would have to say an interception because in the linebacker corps we always argue and bicker between who has the best hands and things like that. To have an interception under my belt this year would definitely be real exciting for me. I think that would be one of the biggest things, especially being able have a chance to run it back after that. We always joke and mess around within the linebacker corps about who has the best hands between insides and outsides and whether the insides have better hands or worse hands than the outsides. I think that would be worse, but I definitely wouldn’t mind a sack or two. (chuckles)
Question: Now as the team has progressed throughout the spring, is there a guy who has jumped out at you, maybe surprised you or stepped up his game this spring?
Burrell: Defensively, Steve Greer has been performing really well this spring since he is such a young linebacker. Being behind Jon Copper, I feel he learned a lot last year watching and trying to mold things off of him. He’s very, very motivated out there. He’s a great teammate and he’s very communicative. He talks all the time, he gets the calls out to everybody, and I feel like he has a real confidence in his game right now, which is really important, especially at a younger age. I feel like coming off his redshirt year that he’s definitely going to be a player that we’re going to be looking forward to making plays this year. He’s done a great job in spring ball and I continue to talk to him every now and then about things and the effort with which he competes is definitely up there.
Also (Chris) Cook, who is coming back off a year that he missed. We’ve all known Cook’s abilities before he left, but coming back I feel he hasn’t missed a step. I feel like his maturity is second to none right now. He’s really vocal within the secondary and I think every day he just keeps getting better and better. We always watch film and see a play where Cook’s having a great play and I feel like his maturity is great right now.