ESPN Insider: Burfict the most overrated player
Oct 19, 2011, 7:16 PM | Updated: Oct 20, 2011, 4:39 pm
Even though Arizona State has a winning record and is on
track to be the first Pac-12 South champ, linebacker
Vontaze Burfict just can’t catch a break.
The linebacker had four solo tackles but committed two
personal foul penalties in Saturday’s 41-27 loss to the
Oregon Ducks.
Although Burfict is no stranger to the personal foul
penalty, match those penalties with his less than stellar
play this season and the Sun Devil finds himself under
plenty of criticism.
ESPN college football analyst Mark May was a guest on
Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo Wednesday, when he
was asked if Burfict is the most overrated player in
college football.
“This year he is because last year he was a beast,” May
said. “Last year you could sit back and say ‘you know some
of those personal foul penalties were due to aggression.'”
However, this season May believes the penalties aren’t
excusable and are just dumb plays.
“You sit there and say ‘okay, if it’s being physical on
the field of play and intimidating and a nice hit that’s
fine,'” May said, “but when you’re tackling guys five
yards out of bounds it’s stupidity.”
The insider believes that Burfict has changed as a player.
“I think that he’s a different player this year,” May
said. “I don’t know if they’d toned him down a little bit,
if they’ve taken that aggressiveness away from him. I
don’t think they have, I don’t think Dennis Erickson would
do that because he wants players to play their game.”
In total this season Burfict has recorded 36 tackles and
four sacks, but three of those sacks came against FCS
school UC Davis.
May thinks Burfict has gone from an easy first round draft
pick to a player NFL teams might question and ultimately
pass up.
