After quarterbacking Kennesaw State to a 49-3 victory over Point University two weeks ago, redshirt sophomore Chandler Burks is hoping to pick up where the Owls left off when they face Duquesne University on the road Saturday after a bye week.
After Trey White suffered an adductor injury in Kennesaw State’s opener, Burks became the Owls’ starter, throwing for 172 yards on 15-for-22 passing with two touchdowns in White’s place.
“(Burks has) been a leader since he’s been here,” coach Brian Bohannon said. “The kid has a lot of leadership qualities and he’s working so hard at the game from a mental standpoint and trying to do everything right. I had a lot of confidence in him going into the game. Unless something crazy happens, he’ll be the starter next week.”
Bohannon’s best case scenario is White will return in time to start in the Owls’ Oct. 1 game against Furman. White’s return depends on how he responds to therapy over the next two weeks.
White has not participated in practice since his injury.
After playing behind White last season, Burks is thankful for White’s leadership, even when he hasn’t dressed out.
“We can both make plays with our feet which is crucial in this offense and we’re also very diligent in the film room and that helps us when we go out there and put our team in the best position,” said Burks, who signed at KSU from South Paulding High School. “I think that we both feed off each other. He helps me when I’m out there and I help him when he’s out there, so we make a good combination.”
After rushing for 138 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown, on nine carries against Point, Burks’ confidence has increased heading into his second start.
Having last week off allowed Bohannon to rest the team last Monday and Tuesday before getting back to prepare for Duquesne, the reigning Northeast Conference champion in Pittsburgh.
“We’re still very far from putting together a complete game, but we’re on the right track,” Burks said.”We’re still a long way away, so the focus right now is taking that game film, learning from it and now preparing for Duquesne coming up. … We got to go out there and get a road win.”
Defensive back Taylor Henkle insists the Owls weren’t surprised that Burks, in his first start, led the Owls to a victory over Point on Sept. 10.
“Him being here for two years and going against him every single week, we’ve seen what he’s been able to do,” Henkle said. “He’s very confident, he knows exactly what he’s going to do before the play even happens. That’s hard to do as a defense because you want to throw something at him that he hasn’t seen before. But he’s always prepared and he prepares us well defensively having a quarterback like him at practice.”
Although he been limited in practice with a foot injury, linebacker Dez Billingslea likes how Burks brings vocal and physical intensity to practice.
“Me and him go back-and-forth a lot of practice,” Billingslea said. “He’ll call me out and I’ll call him out. That’s one thing I like in Burks, man. He makes you bring your A-game every time and that’s what I try to do for him, make him bring his A-game every time.”
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