In some ways, Lorenzo Burns is a most unusual NFL draft prospect.
He’s a pragmatist.
The former Arizona Wildcats cornerback is confident in his abilities. He loves football. Making it to the NFL would fulfill a lifelong dream.
But Burns has a realistic outlook about himself and the profession he’s planning to enter.
He concedes that he’s a “smaller corner” who will “probably play nickel” in the NFL. He estimates that his 40-yard dash time at Arizona’s March 17 pro day will be in the 4.4- to 4.5-second range — nothing too crazy. He hopes to have a long career but has multiple backup plans for whenever his playing days end.
“I’m really just in awe of his maturity at 23,” said DeChon Burns, Lorenzo’s father. “I wasn’t that mature at 23. He’s been a pretty stable, sound cat. He’s kind of an old soul.”
DeChon played football and baseball at USC. A neck injury stunted his playing career and launched one in coaching. After multiple stops in college and the NFL, DeChon coached both of his sons, Lorenzo and Simeon, at Linfield Christian High School in Temecula, California.
DeChon remains Lorenzo’s coach for defensive back drills as he prepares for pro day, which takes on added importance this year after the NFL scrapped the centralized scouting combine because of the coronavirus pandemic. Burns and UA teammate Gary Brightwell received invitations to the combine, giving them enhanced access to NFL clubs.
Lorenzo Burns, here scrambling after an ASU fumble last season, started 40 of 42 games at UA, registering 192 tackles and nine interceptions.
Burns elected to do his “combine” training with Robert Miller at Phenom Performance in Westlake Village, California. His father understood. It was a business decision.
“We sat down as a team,” DeChon Burns said. “He laid it out. He had it written down. He was giving me the whys.
“He’s a man. These are man decisions. He’ll never understand about being a pro if he doesn’t go through the process.”
Lorenzo Burns has a better understanding than most because of his dad and his connections; DeChon coached in the league with Washington from 2002-04. But Lorenzo isn’t seeking any favors. Nor is DeChon.
Advice is another matter. Lorenzo wisely has tapped into DeChon’s network, seeking counsel from Kurt Barber, a former USC and NFL linebacker, and Darrell Green, Washington’s Hall of Fame cornerback, among others.
“He’s connected with people that not a lot of people get to be connected with,” Lorenzo Burns said of his father. “So it’s put me ahead of the game mentally.”
“He asks them real questions,” DeChon Burns said. “You can’t wow him. You’re not going to talk to him about a million dollars. He’s seen that.”
Lorenzo Burns has his own network too, including former teammates Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, J.J. Taylor and Jace Whittaker. All made it to the NFL as undrafted free agents. For them, nothing is guaranteed. Whether he gets drafted or not, expect Burns to take the same approach.
“Lorenzo’s not a flashy dude,” his dad said. “He’s not going to buy the latest Jordans or a $70,000 car.”
Adversity, perseverance
Here’s something else that’s rare about Lorenzo Burns: He stayed true to his school.
Burns began and ended his college career at Arizona. He spent four-plus years in Tucson. That path is becoming less conventional with the advent of the NCAA transfer portal, which provides an easily accessible escape route for thousands of players annually.
“I just saw it as me persevering,” Burns said.
He and his father discussed entering the NFL draft a year ago, after Burns’ fourth season. They talked about various options later in 2020, when the Pac-12 season was in peril.
Remember this, too: The Wildcats lost their final seven games in 2019. Burns’ only bowl experience came at the end of the ’17 campaign. No one would have blamed him for bailing.
“My dad ... just told me to keep working, keep grinding,” Burns said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re at. As long as you’re playing good football, they’re gonna find you.”
Arizona’s losing streak continued through 2020. The Wildcats lost all five of their games in an abbreviated season. Burns had no regrets about coming back. He believes the experiences he gained outweigh the losses he and his teammates endured.
“I think adversity turns a boy into a man,” Burns said. “I came into college as a boy; I came out a man.
“Losing is one thing. When you’re losing and you’re putting as much effort as you can on the field and off the field – and you see your teammates doing the same thing – it can be emotionally taxing.
“You’ve just got to keep pushing through that. There’s always an opportunity to better yourself. Even though things around you might not be the way you want it, it’s never as bad as it seems.”
Arizona’s defense struggled for much of Burns’ time here. The Wildcats failed to generate a consistent pass rush to aid the cornerbacks, and depth was minimal behind Burns, Whittaker and Christian Roland-Wallace.
Burns started 40 of 42 games, accumulating 192 tackles, 26 pass breakups, nine interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He also played regularly on special teams and never shied away from a collision despite checking in at 5-11 and less than 190 pounds.
His younger, smaller self never did either.
Rough and tumble
“Oh my gosh,” DeChon Burns said. “It was like the WWE.”
Lorenzo and younger brother Simeon are about 18 months apart. When their dad was an assistant coach at Washington, Texas Southern and other stops, the boys would watch highlight videos and try to re-enact those scenes. If some furniture got damaged in the process, so be it.
“We would be playing football all day, tackling each other into bookshelves, hitting walls,” Lorenzo Burns said. “All my friends would play rough.”
The Burns brothers, who also have a younger sister, Jailyn, would put on gloves their father brought home from work and other equipment and “get at it,” DeChon said. He and their mother, Enid, never mandated that they play football. But if they were going to, they had to be all in.
“The only thing in our house was, whatever you do, do your best,” DeChon Burns said. “Do the right thing. And you won’t quit. No skipping practices.
“It’s about being respectful, respecting the game, being your best. They just took to it.”
Simeon Burns also played college football. But as DeChon knows all too well, the game is fleeting. Even in a best-case scenario, Lorenzo Burns will be looking for his next career before he’s 40.
He already has given it considerable thought. Burns, who has a degree in general studies with an emphasis on humanities, is interested in marketing, real estate and dog breeding.
Burns has a head start on the latter. He is the proud owner of a 1-year-old American Akita named Drakeo and a 6-month old South African Mastiff named Zeus.
Burns is getting help taking care of them while he trains for pro day and the draft. He has wanted to play in the NFL since his furniture-smashing days. But he knows it’s not the final destination. You have to have options.
“That’s something my mom and dad both told me,” Burns said. “Not just because you think your plan is gonna fail. Have full belief in Plan A. But when Plan A is done, what are you going to do after that?”
