Position Flexibility and Work Ethic Make Marcus Burris a Special Player

Image: Indiana Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana defensive lineman Marcus Burris was a four-star prospect coming out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas and signed with Texas A&M. He spent two seasons and played eight games with the Aggies before transferring to Indiana.

"I hopped in the portal sometime in December and got ahold of coach [Paul] Randolph and coach [Tom] Allen. Those guys showed me love from the start. I had heard a lot of good things about coach Randolph. He has a lot of experience under his belt.” Burris said of making the jump to IU.

Burris has played in both of IU’s games this season and has a sack and tackle for loss and he rotates between the defensive end and the three-technique defensive tackle positions. That position flexibility is a characteristic that has his coaches gushing about his potential.

“What you don’t know is that Marcus Burris is actually playing defensive end, too. Truthfully, it’s crazy because he’s 287-lbs. and he moves like he is 250.” Defensive line coach Paul Randolph said.

Burris has made the adjustment to playing on the end with help from teammate Andre Carter. While it is an adjustment, Burris is welcoming the challenege.

“I have kind of converted back outside to defensive end. I played there in high school, moved to defensive tackle at [Texas] A&M and now I am back to defensive end. It's a body change, a footwork change, and all of that stuff, but I have some great [guys around me to help]. Andre Carter has had a lot of success at the position, so I have been listening to him and watching his every move.” Burris said during fall camp.

Burris comes to IU with something to prove as he missed the entire 2021 season with an achilles injury and played in only eight games in 2022. His work ethic in practice has the IU coaches dreaming of what he could become for the Hoosier defense.

“He practices really hard and I think you're starting to see that transition to the games the the sack that he had was probably somebody else's sack initially but he just kept fighting through and was the guy that down with the ball” defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said of Burris’s performance against Indiana State.

Burris and the rest of the defensive line have made IU’s defense formidable again in the first two weeks of the season. Even though he’s just a redshirt sophomore, his future in football looks like it’s just beginning.

“I think he's got a great future and can play this game for a long time if he stays healthy. I love his mindset, love how he works, love how he practices.
He's just a big guy that cares a lot and gives great effort.” Tom Allen said.

Burris and the Hoosiers will take on the Louisville Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday and hope that Burris can disrupt a potent Cardinal offense.