Keyan Burnett's patience, hard work 'paying off' at Arizona

In today’s era of college football, where the transfer portal is available at one’s disposal and a player can move from one school to another without repercussion, patience isn’t as common as it used to be.

In the quartet of players the Arizona Wildcats signed from Servite High School (Anaheim, California) in 2022, tight end Keyan Burnett was a projected Day 1 starter. He was a four-star prospect, a former USC commit and the highest-rated tight end to sign with the UA since Rob Gronkowski.

However, the Wildcats signed another tight end in that ’22 recruiting cycle: Southern Utah transfer Tanner McLachlan, who broke “Gronk’s” receptions record for an Arizona tight end and is now a rookie for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although new Arizona tight ends coach Matt Adkins didn’t coach McLachlan, “Tanner set a good standard in terms of how Key is being with the younger kids in the group,” said Adkins.

Now a junior, Burnett, who is the son of “Desert Swarm” linebacker Chester Burnett, is one of the elder statesmen in Arizona’s tight end room, after understudying McLachlan for the last two seasons. Despite having the transfer portal accessible, Burnett patiently waited.

“That’s always been my thing, patience, just waiting my turn,” Burnett said. “Something I hold true is trusting the process. This is a facility I love being at, I love coming in every day and putting in the work. I feel at home here, I love the city and the fans and this locker room and how the guys come in every day and handle their business.”

Fifth-year tight end Roberto Miranda, Burnett’s counterpart when the Wildcats run two-tight end sets (12 personnel), was recruited to Arizona by the Kevin Sumlin regime for the pandemic-influenced season in 2020. The Berlin, Germany, native has endured two coaching changes and didn’t see significant playing time in the offense until last season, when he logged 111 offensive snaps, mostly as a blocker. Miranda has one reception in his UA career and is on track to have a career year with an elevated role. But he waited for this chance. And waited. And waited.

“Everything happens for a reason, especially for me,” Miranda said. “I knew, as an international player, I was underdeveloped when I came here as a freshman. I expected to be patient and wait for my turn. Tucson gave me so much, and I’m so thankful for everything I’ve gotten so far. I want to give back and one way of doing that is just being dominant on the football field. There was never a moment where I thought about transferring and going to a different place.”

The patience is starting to pay off for the 6-6, 248-pound Burnett. Burnett is “just processing things faster,” he said. In fall training camp, Burnett is one of the top-producing pass-catchers and red-zone threats. Burnett has won several one-on-one battles against members of Arizona’s starting defensive secondary, including physical box safety Dalton Johnson.

“I’m excited about Keyan,” Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Friday. “I think everybody is. He’s had a great first week of camp. He’s playing the ball great, running great. He’s a really hard worker. That’s something that has consistently throughout the offseason. He’s a kid that’s always trying to get extra film, trying to get extra catches, and I think so far it’s paying off.”

With Arizona star receiver Tetairoa McMillan returning from a leg injury and quarterback Noah Fifita taking over the reins of the offense, this season could be a throwback to their Servite days — and it could be a “last dance” of sorts with McMillan, a projected first-round pick, most likely declaring for the NFL Draft.

“It’s special, for sure,” Burnett said. “Going into a year like this and having the opportunity to do the things we can do, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m taking advantage of every opportunity, every moment with them.”

Transfer Olson ‘a great addition’

In Tucson, “Coach Olson” is sacred. Lute Olson, the late Arizona basketball coaching icon, is an essential piece of Tucson and UA athletics lore — probably a face on the Old Pueblo’s Mount Rushmore, if there ever was one in the Catalinas.

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San Jose State transfer tight end Sam Olson (no relation) isn’t a larger-than-life basketball coach, but the redshirt junior has coached Arizona’s rising tight ends despite being the newbie. The last four seasons, Olson played for Adkins at San Jose State and recorded 45 catches for 594 yards and six touchdowns.

“I think it’s good to have a guy who knows me and knows the expectations to help when I’m not around and have them understand me better,” Adkins said. “We’re super stoked to have him here.”

Miranda said, “You can definitely tell (Olson has) been coached by Coach Adkins for a few years.”

“It’s definitely beneficial for the room and he’s almost like another coach on the field with us,” said Miranda. “Just gives us little details, things maybe Coach Adkins missed on the field. It’s definitely great for all of us. As a person, he definitely fits into the group. It wasn’t awkward at all and good vibes right away. We’re thankful to have him in the room.”

Burnett said Olson, who will have a role at tight end this season, has been “a great addition to our room.”

“As a player, he’s definitely seasoned, detail-oriented in everything he does, which is great to have and learn from,” Burnett said. “I’m glad Coach Matt got him.”

Swedish football

Adkins, who is also Arizona’s passing game coordinator, played quarterback at Southern Oregon and graduated from the NAIA school in 2012.

“I reached that weird age where you graduate from college and you’re supposed to move in with your parents,” Adkins said. “For me, that was moving to Sweden and coaching with my dad.”

Adkins was the offensive coordinator for the Carlstad Crusaders of the Swedish Football League. The following season in 2013, he was named head coach of Swedish spring football league. In the fall, Adkins managed assistant offensive duties at Southern Oregon, which he called “a perfect time in my life,” because the young and hungry coach called 30 games in one calendar year.

Adkins’ father, Doug, a former head coach at Humboldt State in Northern California, hails from a defensive line background, which is the foundation of Adkins’ coaching.

“The first two steps are everything,” the younger Adkins said.

When the tight ends meet during individual drills at training camp, “it’s majority run stuff.” Adkins said, “the group is really athletic (and) a lot of them come from receiver backgrounds,” such as Burnett, redshirt freshman Dorian Thomas and redshirt sophomore Tyler Powell, but excelling at run-blocking and “putting yourself in a great position based on play to be in the right position on the defender, that’s the first phase of it,” Adkins said.

“You can’t get great at the next phases of it until you’re consistently great at the first phase,” he said. “We’re finally at a place where we’re consistently great at the first phase, and now we’re talking about how to fit and finish people. It takes time for them to get comfortable and understand those first two steps.”

The emphasis on blocking is “just trying to train muscle memory, where they’re not thinking about doing it, (then) their bodies naturally do it, and that takes time,” Adkins said. But Arizona is “right on track with what I’m used to.”

Said Adkins: “I think it’s trending in the right direction.”