Where Are They Now? Jeff Burris

Jeff Burris was a highly recruited running back from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C. He decided to leave the warm weather of South Carolina to play football at Notre Dame after receiving a challenge from a state school coach in his home state who was recruiting him. He went on to be an All-American defensive back at Notre Dame, also featured at running back in the goal-line package. A first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1994, Burris made the NFL All-Rookie team that year. He went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL before being forced to leave the game because of concussion problems. He started 119 of those 144 games and his career totals included 529 tackles and 19 interceptions. He played in the NFL for the Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals before retiring after the 2003 season.

Q: How did you make the decision to leave your home state and play football at Notre Dame?

A: "When I was being recruited as a high school running back, I had no idea that Notre Dame was recruiting me. When the whole recruiting process started and various coaches were coming to visit me, this one particular coach mentioned to me that he heard I was on Notre Dame’s recruiting list. When you live in South Carolina, you don’t hear much about Notre Dame football. I came to learn that Notre Dame was getting the best talent in the country to come play for them. I thought, if I am on their list, maybe they should be on my list as well. This particular coach who was recruiting me went on to tell me that if I went to Notre Dame (instead of his school) that I would never be heard from again, because I was not at the caliber of a Notre Dame football player. That really motivated me to prove to him and everyone else that I had what it took to be successful at Notre Dame."


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