Burns is making Alabama an S.C. force

Maybe you've wondered why Alabama seems to be on the list of just about every highly rated football recruit in South Carolina's Class of 2010 this year. We can explain in two words--Burton Burns.

Burns is the Crimson Tide's associate head coach and running backs coach, but before that, from 1999 through 2006, he was a Clemson assistant. There, he learned the state well. And he's back.

Alabama is in the mix for such top S.C. prospects as RB Marcus Lattimore and DE Brandon Willis of Duncan Byrnes, CB John Fulton and DE Dexter Morant of Manning, and OT Eric Mack of Calhoun Co. All of those players are rated among the state's top 13 prospects on The Observer's Top 25 list. Lattimore is No.l, Willis No.2 and Mack No.3.

Last year Burns contributed to the Tide's No.1-ranked recruiting class with two prospects, one of them DL Chris Bonds of Richland Northeast in Columbia. He just might do better than that come signing day next February.

--Stan Olson