Auburn RB commit Christian Burnette special on, off the field
Faith Academy senior Christian Burnette has all the tools to be a successful college football player at Auburn or anywhere else, according to his high school coach.
“Christian can make an impact anywhere,” veteran coach Jack French said. “I have faith in him, but the biggest thing is he has faith in himself.”
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Burnette announced this week he had accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity at Auburn.
Burnette played running back and linebacker this past season in helping the Rams to the Class 5A semifinals. French said Auburn plans to have him at running back.
“He left there (Auburn) this weekend as a running back,” French said. “That is the plan. That was not always the plan but after meeting with a good number of coaches that was the decision they made.”
French said Burnette had a similar PWO opportunity at Alabama, but “he got to liking what he saw at Auburn.”
Burnette was a first-team Class 5A All-State player as an athlete. He rushed for 1,205 yards and 16 TDs on 178 carries for the Rams, caught 16 passes for 212 yards and a TD and had 58 tackles, 15 TFL and 4 sacks on defense.
“I asked him one night when he had an extremely good game how many plays he did not play in,” French said. “He said 5.”
Burnette and the Rams went 11-3 in 2022, losing to eventual state runner-up Charles Henderson in the state semifinals. French said Burnette had all the intangibles to be successful at the next level.
“Determination, understanding what commitment is, never say die – he has it all,” he said. “He is aggressive. He does his job and does it to the best of his ability all the time. Those are all characteristics you would like to have in any endeavor you take on in life. He is one of the good ones. He’s special.”
French said his star, who is currently playing baseball for the Rams, was special on and off the field.
“One thing that stands out above everything else is that Christian lives up to his name,” he said. “He walks it, and he talks it. He’s just what his name says.”
Ironically, French said Burnette is the first player he has coached in four decades that has committed to Auburn.
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