Josh Burger gives Tech line the option of versatility

You only get 85 scholarships in college football, so every player’s value is very much defined by what he can contribute – not a whole lot different than life in the real world.

The obvious motivation for every one of those 85 guys, of course, is to hone their craft to the point where they are valuable, needed and irreplaceable.

There are a couple of methods to accomplish that. One is to carve a niche as a jack-of-all-trades, which is something Texas Tech super senior Josh Burger has certainly mastered, with a memorable new chapter added last week in the Red Raiders’ gritty 23-20 victory at West Virginia.

And for a program that has to rely on any means possible to be creative with personnel compared to fellow Power-5 competitors, Burger is a perfect example of getting the absolute maximum value from one scholarship.

In the 15th start of his Red Raiders’ career, the affable Ohio native slid down two spots to the center position to fill in for injured linemate Dawson Deaton. It was Burger’s first career start in the middle of the offensive line in college and a full-on look at how versatile and valuable he is to the Texas Tech program.

In fact, Burger’s last turn in the middle was back in the 6th grade in Aurora, Ohio, when he didn’t have a choice. His size as a pre-teen necessitated that.

“I was definitely overweight,” a smiling Burger said Tuesday during a weekly media session. “In the 3rd grade, I had to play with kids in the 5th and 6th grades, then I had to leave the youth league to go play for a private school."

All of that seemed to work out pretty well, and Burger’s willingness to adapt on the fly has only added to his prowess up front.

For three years at Wofford then last season for the Red Raiders, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Burger was an anchor at right tackle with 35 consecutive starts after playing a backup role for the Terriers there as a redshirt freshman.

Last spring the Texas Tech coaches slid Burger to right guard, but also had him work in at center at times – almost as an afterthought because Deaton has been so durable.

That experiment came up huge when a concussion put the starting Red Raider center on the shelf last week and Burger got thrust into new duty. To be sure, there are different challenges operating at center and that part of the task piqued Burger’s interest.

“It was a little bit of a learning curve, but it was manageable,” Burger said.

“It was a pretty big deal, obviously. The center plays a pretty big role in our offense identifying pass protections and a lot of the ways we run block. There was added motivation because I knew a lot of people were counting on me.”

If that motivation equated to added pressure, Burger sure didn’t show it.

On a day when the Red Raiders played without six starters against a stout blue-collar defense, Deaton said it was important that nobody tried to be superhuman – “Just do your job,” was how he described the motto of the day.

There was a little cause for nervousness before the game got rolling in Morgantown.

Burger said his first practice snap rolled back to the quarterback and his next one sailed high and out of the reach of any human nearby.

“I was thinking ‘This can’t be happening right now,’” Burger said with a smile.

The fix was fairly simple. Burger stripped off the gloves he was wearing as well as a batch of tape holding his finger joints together.

“Once I got in the game, it kind of felt natural,” he said. “It was new, but it felt natural.”

That element of newness could turn out to be an added benefit for Burger’s future.

With aspirations of playing professionally when he is finished at Texas Tech, Burger will likely need to transfer the versatility he is showing now to the next level. His frame doesn’t translate to playing tackle in the NFL but blending skills at center with what he can do at guard were a welcome byproduct of filling in for Deaton.

“The fact that I got to put center out on film is huge because at the next level, that’s probably where I need to be because of my size,” he said and smiled again.

“I’m like a Swiss army knife. Don’t be surprised if you see me at quarterback this week or tight end. Wherever they need me, I’ll be there.”

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Randy Rosetta is the Managing Editor of RedRaiderSports.com

Contact him at (806) 407-0188 or RandyRosetta67@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter | @RandyRosetta or @RedRaiderSports

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