‘Shroud of mystery’ surrounds five-star Jordan Burch as he readies for college choice
Jordan Burch will be making his college announcement Wednesday. That is certain.
It also is certain the Hammond five-star prospect will be picking from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina. He announced his five finalists on Oct. 28. But other than that, there aren’t many certainties regarding Burch heading to his big announcement.
In the past two years, Burch hasn’t done many interviews at his family’s request and rarely posts on social media even when he makes visits to a school, unlike most top-flight prospects.
Because of that, fan bases from Burch’s five finalists are waiting in anticipation for his choice.
All five schools remain in the mix and made their final pushes this past week. According to reports, Alabama’s Nick Saban was in town Monday to see Burch. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and other assistants came to Columbia on Wednesday to watch Burch’s basketball game against AC Flora.
On Thursday, it was Georgia’s turn as coach Kirby Smart spent time with Burch and attended Hammond’s basketball game at Florence Christian. Burch had 10 points in the win over the Eagles. LSU’s Ed Orgeron was supposed to be in Columbia on Friday.
South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, whose son Jackson is the starting quarterback at Hammond, also reportedly met with Burch this week and was at most of his games the past three seasons. Burch went to a few Gamecocks games this year, including the season finale against Clemson.
Clemson and USC were trying to get Burch on campus for an official visit this weekend. On Saturday, Burch posted via SnapChat that he was at Georgia.
“There are a couple of prospects every cycle that have a shroud of mystery around them as far as what they are going to do. We saw it with Arik Gilbert (who committed to LSU) and also with Burch,” 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong said.
The site’s “crystal ball” predictions for Burch project him to Clemson, but the last pick made was for South Carolina. No predictions have been made since June 18. Wiltfong says the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Burch will be physically ready to contribute to whatever school he commits to Thursday.
“It will be a matter of picking up the scheme, learning base principles of the school’s system,” Wilfong said.
247Sports’ Charles Power compares Burch to San Diego defensive end Joey Bosa, while Wilfong compares him to Jeffrey Simmons, who played at Mississippi State and is now with the Tennessee Titans.
“He is a guy who is a multiple and could have played all 22 positions at Hammond,” Wilfong said. “He is a top-10 guy. And those guys, they have the whole bag. They have the flexibility, body control, power and stout at the point of attack. You hope he blossoms to the first-round pick we think he was. We think he is that good.”
Florence Days
Burch was supposed make his announcement in Florence, where he grew up and was a dominant force, but will make it at Hammond’s gymnasium.
Burch’s playing days started in Florence and helped the Florence All-Stars to multiple state championships during that time.
It was pretty easy to spot Burch on the field as he was almost twice as big as everyone else and almost impossible to tackle when he had the ball in his hands.
“Always took a couple guys to bring him down. He would run down the field with kids hanging on his back,” said Cooper Wallace, a teammate of Burch’s on all-star football teams who went on to play at West Florence.
Wallace called Burch a “gentle giant” and said it was always fun to see him play backyard football with some friends on Saturday. The two were on opposing sides when Burch was a freshman at Wilson and Cooper at West Florence.
Quentin Hodge also was on those championship teams and has been friends with Burch since their elementary school days. They also attended Southside Middle School together. Hodge said Burch always would keep him laughing and having fun. But when it came to playing on the field, Burch was all business.
“Jordan is seriously like a brother to me. We’ve known each other since first grade,” said Hodge, a senior at Lakewood High School and a Division I basketball prospect. “Back in rec league, we were always competitive. All you heard growing up was ‘Jordan and Quentin.’ We were somewhat the one-two punch in all-star football. We played with each other for so long it became natural.”
Hodge said it is fun to see his former teammate in the spotlight.
“When we were younger we always talked about the next level and what schools we wanted to go to,” Hodge said. “And luckily we were both blessed to have been recruited by the schools we use to talk about. I’m happy for him and I know he has a bright future.”
As an eighth-grader, Burch played on varsity basketball team at South Florence and then went to Wilson High in Florence for his freshman season. At Wilson, he earned MaxPreps All-American honors in football playing on the same defensive line with Clemson’s Xavier Thomas.
On the basketball court, Burch was named the region’s Newcomer of the Year.
Coming to Hammond
Burch and his family moved to Columbia in late summer before his sophomore season and played the final three seasons at Hammond, a SC Independent Schools Association powerhouse under former South Carolina quarterback Erik Kimrey.
Burch’s arrival — coupled with a talented roster that included South Carolina commit Alex Huntley and several other Division I prospects — took the program to a different level of notoriety.. The Skyhawks won three consecutive state championships including this year’s 49-21 win over Laurence Manning.
“My first thought when I saw Jordan is, this kid is an athlete. When I saw how fast he ran, I knew he was a special talent,” Hammond linebacker Saul Diaz said. “I feel like to be as big as Boogie (Huntley) and move just as fast or faster than everyone on the field is a very special talent. Those are just guys you have to appreciate to play with and watch them grow with you as a teammate.”
Both Diaz and Burch both transferred in during the same year. He said Burch was very quiet at first but opened up and is one of the jokesters on the Skyhawks’ squad.
“He’s a funny guy, he keeps everyone on the team laughing after a win when we are having fun,” Diaz said. “He is like a cheerleader on the field when me or one of our teammates on the field makes a big play.”
Burch led the team in sacks and accounted for more than 20 touchdowns this season. He had two touchdown runs in the championship game. And in three title game appearances, Burch scored nine touchdowns and also threw a TD pass.
Hammond also appeared on ESPN2 for this year’s season opener against Southern Columbia (Pennsylvania) in a matchup that featured Burch and fellow five-star prospect and Ohio State commit Julian Fleming.
“Jordan is obviously a big player. But his instincts and athleticism set him apart from others. He really understands how to handle himself in the spotlight,” Hammond quarterback Jackson Muschamp said. “Jordan is a great player to have on your team because you can always look to him to make a big play and give your team a spark on defense, offense, and special teams. He is very selfless and cares about our team.”
Muschamp said his favorite memory of his five-star teammate was when he threw a TD pass to Burch, who jumped over two Porter-Gaud defenders.
“He could play receiver or tight end on the next level just as easily as defensive end because he’s that gifted,” Hammond coach Erik Kimrey said previously on Burch. “People don’t realize he can throw the football well. There is nothing he can’t do on a football field.”
During his time at Hammond, Burch’s recruiting and profile skyrocketed. At one point he was ranked No. 1 recruit in the country.
Burch enters the week as No. 5 by 247Sports Composite (factoring in all rankings), No. 5 overall by ESPN and No. 8 by Rivals. He is the highest ranked prospect from the state of South Carolina since Jadeveon Clowney was No. 1 in the country in the Class of 2011.
Burch will play in the Under Armour All-American game next month in Orlando. But before then, he has a big decision to make.
Where No. 1s have gone
A look at where the No. 1-ranked football recruits in South Carolina went the last 10 years. Rankings based on 247Sports Composite
2020: Jordan Burch (South Carolina)
2019: Zacch Pickens (South Carolina)
2018: Derion Kendrick (Clemson)
2017: OrTre Smith (South Carolina)
2016: Tavien Feaster (Clemson)
2015: Albert Huggins (Clemson)
2014: Christian Miller (Alabama)
2013: Tramel Terry (Georgia)
2012: Shaq Roland (South Carolina)
2011: Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina)
2010: Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina)
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘Shroud of mystery’ surrounds five-star Jordan Burch as he readies for college choice."
