Utah DB Terrell Burgess drafted by LA Rams with 104th pick

Utah capped their 3rd round of players being drafted with the LA Rams taking Terrell Burgess. Burgess was the fourth player drafted from the Utes Friday night, joining Jaylon Johnson, Julian Blackmon and Zack Moss.

Coming into the 2019 season, Burgess would have been a name that many fans wouldn’t have guessed would be a draftee, but his development during his time on campus vaulted him into the NFL. Burgess saw limited duty his first two seasons at Utah, and started to get a bit more run in 2018, but he was still buried behind a ton of more experience talent ahead of him. In 2019, he was an unknown, but he may have been the most reliable Utah defender, and that’s saying something.

You can read all of his accolades below in the press release, but Burgess should be a poster child for players coming to Utah. He worked his tail off, and with the Utah coaching staff, they developed him from just a dude to a NFL player. His route within the program is truly the Utah way, and it’s super impressive. I’ve always like the Rams, but with Burgess now on their squad, I’m going to like them just a bit more.

Full press release from Utah SID:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Utah safety Terrell Burgess was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round with the 104^th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft today.

Burgess is the 14^th member of the Utah secondary drafted by the NFL during Kyle Whittingham’s tenure as head coach. He is also the third member of the Utes’ 2019 secondary drafted this week, joining Jaylon Johnson and Julian Blackmon.

This is the first time in school history that three members of the Utah secondary have been drafted in the same year. The last time that the Utes had two members of the secondary drafted in the same year was in 2017 (Marcus Williams to the Saints, Brian Allen to Pittsburgh).

He is the sixth Ute in school history to be taken by the Rams and the first since 1995 when Bronzell Miller went in the seventh round.

After playing in a reserve role on defense and as a special teams contributor his first three seasons, Burgess earned the starting safety position his senior year and didn’t disappoint. He earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention after starting all 14 games, finishing third on the team and first in the backfield with 81 tackles.

In 2019 as a senior, Burgess was second on the team in fumble recoveries (2), which tied for fourth in the Pac-12, also finishing with six passes defended that included his first-career interception. He had two double-digit tackle games in 2019, including his career-high 12 with a pass breakup against Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game.

He played in 45 career games as a Ute, including in all 14 as a junior in 2018 when Utah fans started to get a glimpse at the San Marcos, Calif., native’s potential. He started against Arizona State and Oregon in 2018, finishing the year with 16 tackles and three pass breakups, also blocking a field goal against Weber State.