By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
It seems forever ago. But the last time William & Mary played a traditional football season, it was
Zach Burdick who got things started with a bang and finished in style.
On the Tribe's first play from scrimmage in the 2019 opener, Burdick outleaped a defender for a 49-yard reception. In the finale, on another 50-50 ball, he hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass in overtime.
Those were two of Burdick's 34 catches, which accounted for a team-leading 655 yards, in a breakout junior season. Given that he had one reception in his first two seasons, it seemingly came out nowhere. Not so in his mind.
"Just because of the preparation I had that summer and the way spring and fall camp went," he said. "I had the mentality that whenever my number was called, I would make plays for the team.
"It just worked out that way, and my number kept getting called. I tried to keep helping the team and it just turned out to be that kind of year."
A special kind of year.
Burdick was poised for a strong follow-up in 2020, but a global crisis intervened. There was the abbreviated season last spring, but he missed two of W&M's three games with an injury.
Because of the pandemic, the NCAA gave athletes a mulligan for 2020-21. So Burdick, who graduated last December with a degree in economics, is back for one last shot.
"He brings explosiveness to the game," W&M quarterback
Hollis Mathis said. "He's able to go up and make plays, and he's able to stretch guys downfield.
"He's a versatile player. We like to make sure he gets his touches because he's a baller."
Of Burdick's 36 touches (34 catches, two rushes) in 2019, 28 resulted in a first down and/or touchdown. That is not counting his 62-yard pass to
Kane Everson against Towson.
Burdick was a receiver from the time he began playing football but switched to quarterback for his final two seasons at John Champe High in Loudoun County. Most of the recruiting attention he received came from Division III programs, but W&M was impressed enough to offer a preferred walk-on spot.
Burdick spent most of his redshirt year in 2016 quarterbacking the scout team. He embraced the role but wanted to play on Saturdays. He did, if only briefly, as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and sophomore in '18.
Then came a coaching change, and Burdick seized the opportunity for a fresh start. He told his new coaches he would prove to be more than a walk-on. He wasted no time in proving his case.
On the season's first offensive snap, with all four quarterbacks on the field, Burdick beat man coverage and went up for a 49-yard reception. The unique play had been scripted for weeks, and without revealing much detail, Burdick told his parents to watch for it.
After two games, Burdick already had four catches for 125 yards. A few days before week three against Colgate, W&M coach
Mike London announced Burdick would be given scholarship money through the HEYFARL (Hundreds Each Year For A Rising Letterman) program.
Burdick had at least one catch in every game that season. His streak almost ended in the finale at Richmond. But given extra time, he made an over-the-shoulder in the end zone to give the Tribe a 21-15 win at Richmond.
Burdick turned out to be one of the Tribe's breakout stars of the 2019 season. But as good as his play was on the field, his leadership skills also were noticed. In a team vote, Burdick was voted one of five team captains for the upcoming season.
"Easily the biggest honor of my life," said Burdick, who had three catches for 48 yards in his only game in the spring. "These are some of my greatest friends, some of the greatest people, I've ever met. And to have them vote for me like that is something that I value."
London admired Burdick's approach to the injury that caused him to miss the final two games of the spring season.
"A lot of times, guys who are injured kind of fade into the background and become oblivious to what's going on," London said. "He was still on the sideline coaching up players at practice and bugging our trainers about when he could rehab again.
"He's gotten to the point where he's back on the field and contributing 100 percent. That's the kind of character our players noticed in adding captains."
Added Mathis: "He's one of those guys you trust off the field, so it makes it easier to trust him on the field."
Burdick is one of seven sixth-year seniors on William & Mary's roster. He not only welcomes another season, he is determined to make the most of it.
"We were extremely lucky to get that extra year, and it was a no-brainer to come back," Burdick said. "We all just love football so much and we love this team. We're a little bit older and wiser now."
"I can't even describe how amazing it's going to feel. Football is a special game, and for all of us being back here playing again, we're so excited."
