Burrell proves worth

"No one was beating down my door," Burrell said.

That didn't stop him from pursuing his football and -- to a great extent -- educational dreams. Burrell promised his mother he would get a college degree and he decided the best way to do it would be to earn a football scholarship. He also had a burning desire to see how good he really was.

Saturday, he'll be one of the team leaders when City College of San Francisco hosts CSM in San Francisco. He is the Rams' leading receiver with 28 catches in seven games. He has friends at CSM and there has been some talking this week between them.

"CSM was my big breakout game last year," Burrell said. "I'm fired up (for Saturday)."

There has been some turmoil within the team as San Francisco has to deal with a 4-3 record -- a year after winning the state and national titles. Losing is not a common occurrence at San Francisco and the young Rams are learning to deal with it.

Burrell, however, while staying focused on the present, has an eye on his future as well. A future that appears very bright.

"I'm 95 percent sure I'll go DI," Burrell said. "All my coaches have told me I can get a DI scholarship. DI coaches have come by and my mail stacks are getting bigger. Bigger than high school, for sure."

It made sense for Burrell to choose San Francisco over CSM, the other school that was seeking Burrell's skills. The Rams are known as a high-flying, passing-oriented team that consistently sends players to the biggest four-year programs across the country. Not only did Burrell want a shot at moving on to earn his degree, he wanted to compete against -- and with -- the best.

"To be honest, I found out about City real late. I played up here in passing leagues (during high school) but I didn't realize the team was a powerhouse," Burrell said. "My dad said, 'If you want to play with the best, go try out.'"

Burrell also received a big dose of "you can't hang" from all kinds of people -- telling him he would never make the cut at San Francisco, that he was be lucky to even make the team. Those comments motivated Burrell more than anything.

"Someone told me, 'When's the last time you heard about a Carlmont kid tearing it up at City?'" Burrell said. "You can't call yourself the best unless you go up against the best. When you're competing against guys that want it as bad as you, it's fun."

There is no doubt Burrell has earned his role with the Rams. When he showed up for his first workout, there were 23 other receivers vying for spots. Burrell quickly became the fifth receiver for an offense where five receivers on the field at the same time is not uncommon. This year, he is one of the team's elder statesmen. That doesn't mean he's stopped working, however.

"Everybody wants to take reps (in practice) and when you get them, you better take advantage," Burrell said. "There are no defaults at City. If there's someone behind you that can do it better, you'll share time until one of them slips up."

With only three games left in his junior-college career, Burrell has already experienced the highs and lows of playing with a premiere program -- winning a national title one year and struggling (by City College standards) the next with three losses. Burrell tries not to get too high or too low. He knows City College is just the latest stop on a ride he hopes will take him to a major Division I college program and in turn, a college degree.

"Junior college is just a stepping stone to a four-year school. That's how I look at it," Burrell said. "I always promised my mom I would get a college degree in something. I had football and I was good at it. I knew that's how I could get through school."

Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.