Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville OL Commit Luke Burgess
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program has landed their first offensive line commit in the Class of 2023, as Luke Burgess has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals.
Here is Louisville Report's full evaluation:
Prospect: Luke Burgess
Position: Offensive Tackle
Vitals: 6-foot-7, 285 pounds
School: New Palestine (Ind.) HS
Top Offers: Florida State, Miami, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Oregon, Tennessee
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.8892 (409th)
Luke Burgess' Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)
Frame: Burgess has an incredible base frame to work with. As you can tell by his measurables, he's tall, but also has a good wingspan to boot and still has room to grow. Will need to add some weight and muscle tone at the next level, but that shouldn't be a problem at all.
Athleticism: For someone as imposing as Burgess, he's fairly athletic, which is partially due to the fact that he also plays some defensive tackle. He comes out of his stance quickly, has good lateral movement, and is not as clunky in his movement as one might think for someone of his stature. He has no issue with hustling to make downfield blocks or pull across the line.
Instincts: Burgess is very much a "play through the whistle" type of player. As soon as he engages a defender, he will work on him until the play is well over. He has the strength to not only significantly alter pursuit angles at the point of attack, but drive them away from the action entirely. He does a great job keeping defenders engaged in blocks partially due to his ability to keep them in front of him, but also because of how he attacks and places his hands.
Polish: Burgess can play at both tackle spots, but played mainly at left tackle. While he, more often than not, had an advantage against defenders from a size standpoint, he wasn't overly reliant on simply being the more physically imposing player, and has good overall technique. He did performance slightly better when it came to run support, but that's not say his pass blocking is bad, per se.
Bottom Line: This is a very good pickup for Louisville. Once the fall gets here, if Burgess puts on a little more weight ahead of his senior season, the already highly-ranked prospect has a chance to shoot up recruiting rankings. He very much could take the Michael Gonzalez path, and be a solid backup contributor in year one with the potential to be an impact starter sooner rather than later.
(Photo of Luke Burgess via the IndyStar)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter
