Columbia WR/DB Mike Burke generating D-1 interest

Written by: Josh Funk on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011. Follow Josh Funk on Twitter.

The Columbia Crimson Tide have a few key pieces returning at the skill positions from last year’s District 3 Class A playoff-qualifying team.  One of those skill pieces, senior-to-be Michael Burke, is racking up some Division-1 interest.

Burke, a 6’2, 200-pound wide receiver/defensive back combination for the Crimson Tide, has received interest, but no verbal offers, from eight Division-1 FBS and FCS teams, according to national recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com.  Interested parties in Burke include Akron, Bowling Green, Brigham Young, Connecticut, Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia.

Scout.com ranks Burke as a three-star prospect and the #81 wide receiver in the 2012 recruiting class, trailing three other Keystone State receiver prospects – Eugene Lewis (Wyoming Valley West, #14); Kyle Kerrick (Coatesville Area, #55) and Corey Jones (Penn Hills, #72) at the wide receiver position.

Burke ripped up the opposition during his junior season for Columbia, finishing as the team’s featured receiver in an aerial assault that averaged over 205 yards per game.  Burke hauled in a team-leading 72 passes for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 16.5 yards per catch.  He averaged 6.5 receptions and 107.7 yards per game for the Crimson Tide last season.  Burke also completed one pass for 42 yards and scored a rushing touchdown on 13 attempts.  Defensively, he added 64 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions, returning one of the interceptions for a score.

In his career, Burke has hauled in 97 passes for 1,710 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 17.6 yards per reception.  He is just 1,290 yards shy of hitting 3,000 career receiving yards, a mark rarely attained by Pennsylvania wideouts.

Columbia finished 4-7 last season, averaging 28.6 points per game and earning the #5 seed in the District 3 Class A playoffs.  The Crimson Tide fell to Steelton-Highspire in the opening round, 41-32.

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