Cap Burnett says ‘coaching saved my life’ after UGA playing career cut short
Cap Burnett, the head football coach at North Clayton High, is a former Georgia defensive back whose career ended in 2002 because of repeated concussions.
His younger brother, Morgan Burnett, is a former Georgia Tech All-American who played 10 NFL seasons, most of them with the Green Bay Packers. Morgan Burnett also is a high school coach now, assisting on Walton’s staff.
Cap Burnett has been coaching his high school alma mater for 10 seasons, and he’s on the brink of his first winning season after a 42-41 victory over fifth-ranked Stephenson in a Class 3A game last week. That left North Clayton with a 5-1 record.
The victory was the first for North Clayton over a top-10 team since 2009. North Clayton is in first place in Region 5-3A in pursuit of the school’s first region title since 2008.
In this interview Wednesday, after North Clayton was recognized as AJC Varsity/Georgia High School Football’s Team of the Week, Burnett talked about his love of his alma mater, his biggest influences, his relationship with his brother Morgan and how coaching rescued him from depression and saved his life.
This is your 10th year here at North Clayton. You’re on the brink of your first winning season. What has kept you there?
“It’s the love. The love of this community. When we moved here, when I was 7 years old, they embraced me and my family. When I came back to be a coach, of course it wasn’t exactly the same, but the love I had inside for this place was still there. The love I have for this school, this community, the young people that come through here, the families in this community, man, it’s just bigger than football. I don’t just look at wins and losses. I knew these young men here could help turn this program around. I just want to continue to pour into them and fill my purpose in life. It’s what God has called me to do.”
What is your relationship like with your brother, Morgan?
“We have conversations every day, ever since he came into the world. We’re just older now, and we have our own families, but we talk all the time and like to bounce ideas off of each other. It’s a blessing to see him be an NFL guy and then get to go back (to the high school level) and give back like he does. It goes back to the way our mom and dad raised us. It’s been so much fun to see him succeed, and he’s so humble, but he does a great job pouring into these young men.”
You had to give up football at Georgia. How did that affect you, and what are some of the lessons you learned from playing and then suddenly not being able to play?
“I learned that playing is totally different than coaching. Just because you play football doesn’t mean you can coach it. You have to deal with so many personalities, and you’re trying to put all the ideas from your head into the minds of teenagers and pass along what you’ve learned. It’s more of an art than a job, but it’s a challenge that I love to take on. To be honest, coaching saved my life. Literally. I went into a depression, not being able to play anymore, but then I got that call from Coach (Donald) Shockley to come and help him coach. It was an amazing opportunity, just being able to reach kids, and when you see them do the things that you’ve taught them and you see it all come together for them, that’s the beauty of coaching.”
Note: Donald Shockley was Burnett’s high school coach. Cap Burnett was on North Clayton’s staff through Morgan Burnett’s senior season of 2006.
What are some of the changes that you’ve seen in high school football, from when you played almost 30 years ago to now?
“The style of football. The way I played back then, the physicality, it’s changed because of more concern about player safety. I look at it now and say, ‘Man, I would be getting flagged every play,’ but I definitely understand why that is. There’s more of an emphasis to try to protect the kids. It actually probably would have saved me if that was the way we played back then. The game has also gotten a lot faster. There’s so many RPOs (run-pass options), whereas I saw a lot of wing-T and two-back sets when I played. But that’s another beautiful thing about coaching. You’ve got to adjust as the game adjusts. That’s what makes a good coach, if you can adapt.”
What did this past week’s win over Stephenson mean to your team and the North Clayton community?
“It meant everything, not just for the region standings, but more so for the excitement in the community. It was a chance to have the spotlight on these great young men and this terrific group of coaches. It was very special to see them all smiling after the game. It was truly a blessing.”
What was your game plan against Stephenson and what gave you an edge against them?
“Your biggest opponent is always yourself. We just wanted to execute what we did in practice in that game. We knew Stephenson would be tough. They are a great team, take nothing away from them at all. We were able to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands, and we got contributions from all three phases — offense, defense and special teams. We were able to capitalize on a few of their mistakes. It was great to see our guys step up in a big game like that.”
You’re on the brink of a winning season, and a region championship is definitely in play for you guys. How is this team different than some of the teams in the last few years?
“This is a player-led group. We have some great leaders on the team this year. I think that’s the biggest difference. These guys have really stepped up, starting all the way back in January during the offseason. It hasn’t been easy and we’ve gone through all kind of storms, but these guys have weathered them. Our player leadership has embraced the adversity. They didn’t run from it. Then when you have some success, there can sometimes be even more distractions and adversity. There is pressure from the outside, but they have been able to kind of tune that out and they’ve been really focused on what we need to do every day.”
Who have been some of the most important people in your life and through your career that have helped shape the coach that you are today?
“I was definitely blessed to have it starting in my own house, with my dad (Cap Burnett III, a former college player at Memphis State and in the United States Football League) and the values that he and my mom instilled in our family. Then some of my middle school coaches and guys like (former North Clayton head coach) Don Shockley and (former North Clayton and Avondale head coach) Maurice Tyler, they had a big influence on me. When I went to play at the University of Georgia, I learned a lot from Jim Donnan and Mark Richt, but one coach who really opened my eyes a lot was (former UGA defensive coordinator) Brian VanGorder. When I had to stop playing due to concussions, I helped out as a student assistant under him, and that got me interested in a coaching career, because I’d never really thought of it before. When I started out as a teacher and coach, I also got to work with coaches like Clint Satterfield and Timothy Floyd, so over the years, I kind of pulled ideas from a lot of different guys, and I was blessed to have a lot of great coaches around me.”
