Arizona Commit Jake Burton Loves to Sack Quarterbacks!

California born and raised, Jake Burton of Apply Valley just loves the game of football and he cannot wait to come to Tucson.

I really enjoyed my time with Jake Burton. He was recruited by so many teams, even so, his top four included the University of Arizona which thankfully ended up on top. Jake let us in on which of the other three schools he was evaluating, “They were all close but the ones at the top were SDSU, UCLA and Vanderbilt.”

One may have thought Burton would’ve chosen the school his father played college football for, “My dad played played football for SDSU and would’ve been drafted to the NFL if he didn’t get hurt his senior year.”

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If you are or have ever been a high school junior who just accepted entrance into the University of Arizona, you would have been hit with this statement/question sometimes by multiple people when you announced you were moving to Tucson: ‘But it’s so hot, how are you going to handle the heat?’

The answer given the majority of the time with some trepidation would’ve been something like, ‘It’ll be okay, it’s a dry heat.’ Not Burton, his answer was classic, “Yeah that’s not going to be new to me. Just this past Monday it was 105 degrees here.” He’ll fit right in.

Gabe Encinas of AZ Desert Swarm caught up with Jake on his visit to Arizona and asked Burton how the recruitment process was going then, “Going great and I’m enjoying every minute of it with all the coaches and schools interested.” If you go through all the campus visit tweets and photo’s on Jake’s Twitter page (@jake_burton9), you will find he had put several school jerseys over his head throughout the process, but I am sure you agree he looks the best in red and blue.

"Great time at Arizona!"

Jake has a personal defensive coach. His father, Brad Burton, is the Defensive Coordinator for the Grossmont College (a Junior College) football team in El Cajon, California and is also a high school teacher. I asked Jake if his father was disspointed he chose Arizona, “No, not at all. He said from the very beginning that this choice has to be all me and he supports me 100% and he’s so stoked about Arizona.” Jakes truck is ready to come to Tucson:

"The truck's looking good"

Jake was recently listed as the pre-season No. 1 California recruit in San Diego County on the MBASportsRecruiting.com watch list and was recruited by over 15 schools gaining offers from USC, UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Cal and SDSU to name a few.

Arizona Wildcats

I asked Jake what was the moment he knew he was going commit to Arizona and become a Wildcat, “I knew that Arizona was the place for me during my visit. From the very beginning just driving into Tucson and walking around the beautiful campus and seeing the football stadium and meeting with all of the coaches and staff it just felt right. If I had to pick one moment it’s probably when it was sunset and I was done with my tour and done talking to the coaches and I just with my family walking back to our hotel through campus and I just knew that this place was the place for me.”

Jake’s inspiration comes from a special place, “That would have to be my parents..they always encourage me to do my best.” Burton is the oldest of three brothers, he has two little brothers, William (15) and Zach (11). Weighing 260 pounds and standing 6’6″ himself, one has to wonder just how little his brothers really are.

Jake’s mom, Donna, is an Elementary School Principal so along with athletics mentoring he also has strong academic support within his own immediate family. Jake and his mom travelled to Indiana to visit Notre Dame, here are some pictures from their trip:

"My mom and I at South Bend"

Jake actually has two personal coaches. As mentioned earlier, he has his father but he also has his uncle Mitch Burton who is the offensive coordinator for Jake’s Granite Hills High School Eagles football team. They are both helping him prepare for college by working with Jake on using his hands and feet more efficiently. I asked him what he was going to miss most about high school, “Definitely the people and all my teammates and coaches..all my boys on my team..I have made such great relationships over these past years.”

Jake is a true ‘get in your face throughly into every down’ type football player fans can’t get enough of, “I just love flying around and hitting people and I actually try not to think too much before the snap and just play and I usually watch a football movie the night before [to get him game ready].” He also plays Basketball in High School and he loves it, he plays every chance he gets. In his free time he spends times with his three dogs and hanging out with friends.

Hard edge doesn’t even begin to describe Jake’s desire to sack quarterbacks, “I always try to play like J.J. Watt and Justin Smith.”

https://twitter.com/jake_burton9/status/626128595497299969

I asked Jake if he had a message for Wildcats fans, his new teammates and Pac-12 Quarterbacks, “Just that I’m hungry to win a Pac-12 Championship and I’m ready to work hard and kick a** and that Pac-12 QB’s better watch out!”

Jake’s last words to us: “I love playing the game of football, the greatest game in the world and I’m so stoked for Arizona!”

And we are stoked you are going to be a Wildcat Jake! BEAR DOWN!

Enjoy these highlights…lots of huge tackles and sacks!

Next: The Arizona Wildcats football team has a license to Thrill!