Molecular Biologist At Wide Receiver
COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Molecular Biologist At Wide Receiver By Jim Leach “FOUR! THREE! THREE THREE THREE! ROLL THREE! OH, TWO! OH, CRAP! IT’S EIGHT EIGHT EIGHT!” From the sidelines, you can hear wide receiver Erik Burke, #1, calling out the opponent’s defensive formations just before the snap. “A lot of our plays have options that depend on the coverage,” said Burke. “Wide receivers have to read their sector of the field and communicate with the quarterback.” Recognition is instantaneous in the two to five seconds before the ball is snapped. “The defense does a lot of switching,” said Burke, “but there’s that split second before the snap when the defense comes set. We yell out the coverage and then we run.” The senior from Traverse City, MI, caught a pass in all 11 games in 2006, finishing as the Raiders’ leading receiver with 38 catches for 565 yards and one TD. He was second team All-Patriot League, but, like his teammates, disappointed in a 4-7 finish and eager to turn things around in 2007. With the graduation of Colgate’s quarterback from the past two seasons, Mike Saraceno, Burke and his teammates are adjusting to a new signalcaller. “Not an issue,” he said. “All the quarterbacks get a lot of time in practice, and with one-on-one drills we’re used to each one’s style. It’ll be a little change, of course, but it will be fun.” The team faces another change at home, with the grass in Andy Kerr Stadium replaced by FieldTurf. Displaying a turf burn on his forearm that is much smaller than a similar burn suffered last year on earlier-generation AstroTurf, Burke said, “You can see the difference in how it treats you. It’s good for the speed and skill players. We’ll play one game on grass this year – at Holy Cross.” Burke came by #1 the old-fashioned way, as you’d expect on a Dick-Biddle-coached team. “I was under the impression that when you come in your number is an indication of where you stand. I came in at #82, one of the last ones to be signed.” He saw eight games as a freshman, mostly on punt returns. “As a freshman, you have to relearn that you’re at the bottom of the barrel again. That’s good. You have to earn everything. Leadership comes from doing every repetition off-season, not
taking the easy way out.” Not only did he work hard over that summer and into fall camp, but he also bugged Biddle every day for the #1 that had been worn the previous year by senior Chris Brown. “Coach Biddle has certain numbers he likes to keep around, to make sure they’re taken care of,” said Burke. And when he finally won the number: “The next day I had it in practice and I felt so hyped, I’m sure I was faster.” Once one of the fastest high school athletes in Northern Michigan, Burke doesn’t claim that distinction at Colgate: “I know I’m top ten. But Wayne Moten (#9), he’s fast as lightning.” Then Burke adds, “At this level there are really only two routes that involve speed – the crossing route and the fade route – after that it’s all technique, all footwork and economy of motion. Who’s more competitive is who’s going to win.” Burke’s older sister Malissa ‘04 captained the Raider basketball team and was Patriot League tournament MVP the year the squad went on to play Tennessee in the first round of the NCAAs. She brought Erik – who at the time was considering Cornell, Penn and Columbia – to the attention of the Colgate coaches. After seeing Erik’s tape, Biddle called Burke to offer him the final slot on the 2004 squad. “I’m not an Ivy-League-type guy,” said Burke. “I like the working-man attitude of Colgate. I said yes right there.” Also a workingman in the classroom, Burke majors in molecular biology. “I came in freshman year knowing that I was going to do two years of chemistry, biology, and physics, and work my way into microbiology. I have a great academic adviser, Ken Belanger [associate professor of biology].” Looking back on the semester when he took organic semester during the football season, Burke said, “Whew, I don’t know how I did it.” He acknowledges “the season definitely forces you to organize yourself in different ways.” He’ll have a research tutorial with Professor Damhnait McHugh for his senior spring. But today the focus is on the game at hand.
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Molecular Biologist At Wide Receiver By Jim Leach “FOUR! THREE! THREE THREE THREE! ROLL THREE! OH, TWO! OH, CRAP! IT’S EIGHT EIGHT EIGHT!” From the sidelines, you can hear wide receiver Erik Burke, #1, calling out the opponent’s defensive formations just before the snap. “A lot of our plays have options that depend on the coverage,” said Burke. “Wide receivers have to read their sector of the field and communicate with the quarterback.” Recognition is instantaneous in the two to five seconds before the ball is snapped. “The defense does a lot of switching,” said Burke, “but there’s that split second before the snap when the defense comes set. We yell out the coverage and then we run.” The senior from Traverse City, MI, caught a pass in all 11 games in 2006, finishing as the Raiders’ leading receiver with 38 catches for 565 yards and one TD. He was second team All-Patriot League, but, like his teammates, disappointed in a 4-7 finish and eager to turn things around in 2007. With the graduation of Colgate’s quarterback from the past two seasons, Mike Saraceno, Burke and his teammates are adjusting to a new signalcaller. “Not an issue,” he said. “All the quarterbacks get a lot of time in practice, and with one-on-one drills we’re used to each one’s style. It’ll be a little change, of course, but it will be fun.” The team faces another change at home, with the grass in Andy Kerr Stadium replaced by FieldTurf. Displaying a turf burn on his forearm that is much smaller than a similar burn suffered last year on earlier-generation AstroTurf, Burke said, “You can see the difference in how it treats you. It’s good for the speed and skill players. We’ll play one game on grass this year – at Holy Cross.” Burke came by #1 the old-fashioned way, as you’d expect on a Dick-Biddle-coached team. “I was under the impression that when you come in your number is an indication of where you stand. I came in at #82, one of the last ones to be signed.” He saw eight games as a freshman, mostly on punt returns. “As a freshman, you have to relearn that you’re at the bottom of the barrel again. That’s good. You have to earn everything. Leadership comes from doing every repetition off-season, not
taking the easy way out.” Not only did he work hard over that summer and into fall camp, but he also bugged Biddle every day for the #1 that had been worn the previous year by senior Chris Brown. “Coach Biddle has certain numbers he likes to keep around, to make sure they’re taken care of,” said Burke. And when he finally won the number: “The next day I had it in practice and I felt so hyped, I’m sure I was faster.” Once one of the fastest high school athletes in Northern Michigan, Burke doesn’t claim that distinction at Colgate: “I know I’m top ten. But Wayne Moten (#9), he’s fast as lightning.” Then Burke adds, “At this level there are really only two routes that involve speed – the crossing route and the fade route – after that it’s all technique, all footwork and economy of motion. Who’s more competitive is who’s going to win.” Burke’s older sister Malissa ‘04 captained the Raider basketball team and was Patriot League tournament MVP the year the squad went on to play Tennessee in the first round of the NCAAs. She brought Erik – who at the time was considering Cornell, Penn and Columbia – to the attention of the Colgate coaches. After seeing Erik’s tape, Biddle called Burke to offer him the final slot on the 2004 squad. “I’m not an Ivy-League-type guy,” said Burke. “I like the working-man attitude of Colgate. I said yes right there.” Also a workingman in the classroom, Burke majors in molecular biology. “I came in freshman year knowing that I was going to do two years of chemistry, biology, and physics, and work my way into microbiology. I have a great academic adviser, Ken Belanger [associate professor of biology].” Looking back on the semester when he took organic semester during the football season, Burke said, “Whew, I don’t know how I did it.” He acknowledges “the season definitely forces you to organize yourself in different ways.” He’ll have a research tutorial with Professor Damhnait McHugh for his senior spring. But today the focus is on the game at hand.
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