Burlingame, set, match
Defensive tackle Lance Burlingame, a former UConn commit, signs with Florida Atlantic.
Originally published on
12/21/2012
by
Chuck King
For the second time in a week, FAU has out-dueled Connecticut for a junior college prospect.
Dean College defensive tackle Lance Burlingame signed with FAU on Friday, becoming the second former Dean College player to sign with the Owls this week.
Why did Burlingame end up at FAU instead of UConn?
“It was a whole bunch of stuff,” he said. “It just wasn't really going to work out there. With FAU everything was in place. It was a better fit at FAU.”
On Wednesday NJCAA All-American wide receiver Lucky Whitehead signed with the Owls, and like Burlingame, did so after being heavily pursued by UConn.
“(Whitehead) told me a lot about the school from his visit and told me he really he enjoyed it. That kind of helped me out,” said Burlingame, who has yet to visit FAU.
Burlingame also reportedly had an offer from Purdue.
A 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive lineman, 11 of Burlingame's 26 tackles as a senior went for loss. Four of them were sacks.
Burlingame possesses unusual quickness for a player his size. In the highlight play of his junior college career, Burlingame successfully sniffed out a screen pass, intercepted it, and raced 40 yards for the score.
A New Bedford (Mass.) graduate, Burlingame recorded 84 tackles, including seven sacks, recovered five fumbles and caused two more.
“I'm excited about coming to Florida,” Burlingame said. “I'm sick of all this cold weather.”
Burlingame is the fifth junior college player to sign with the Owls during the mid-year signing period. East Mississippi CC QB Quez Johnson, North Dakota College of Science DL Derek Butcher, and CC of San Francisco OL Braden Lyons joined Whitehead in signing their National Letters of Intent to FAU on Wednesday.
All players are expected to be enrolled at Florida Atlantic in January and will participate in spring drills.