This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Brandon Burton knows people might doubt Utah's cornerbacks and their ability to shut down opponents in 2010.
He has four words of assurance for those nervous folks — R.J. Stanford and Brice McCain.
They were corners whose skills were often questioned, but both held onto their starting jobs at Utah and were deemed good enough to get shots in the NFL.
Stanford is a seventh-round pick in his first year with Carolina while McCain is in his second year with Houston.
Burton believes he can follow in his former teammates' path by excelling in his senior year for the Utes. He isn't thinking about the NFL yet, understanding those opportunities will come if he can do his job well.
"Utah's legacy is having those corners who can go one-on-one against teams, and I'm going to try to live up to that. That is the plan," he said.
Doing well by Utah's standards means upholding the proud tradition the Utes have established by surviving in man-to-man coverage. There is no hiding in Utah's system, which can make Utah's corners fall to criticism and rise in mock drafts all at the same time.
"Our corners are out there on an island with what we do in our defense," Utah defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake said. "They get some criticism sometimes, but what they have to do is very hard. Not many teams are willing to use corners like we do."
Burton is sharing corner duties along with senior Lamar Chapman, who was Utah's nickelback in 2009, and backup Conroy Black, a junior college transfer who had a strong camp.
Utah's coverage did a decent job in Utah's 27-24 win against Pitt, with quarterback Tino Sunseri going 16-for-28 for 184 yards and top receiver Jon Baldwin getting four catches for 71 yards.
"Success like that gives you motivation and confidence against other receivers," Burton said.
Burton, who tied for third in the MWC in pass breakups (10) in 2009, said the 2009 season was one long lesson for him after he played primarily on special teams in 2008.
He had some rough moments but learned enough to be prepared for 2010 and feels more at home as one of the defensive leaders.
"Just getting time on the field was the biggest thing for me," he said. "It slowed the game down, and now that I've gone through that, I have gotten a lot more comfortable."
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has acknowledged his secondary is young and inexperienced, but he said the corners have the talent to excel, just as they've done in the past.
"Brandon is a proven commodity and one of the best corners in the conference, if not the best, and Lamar is a proven commodity in his role," he said.
Proven, with more to come, Burton believes.
Utah corners
Player Ht/Wt Class
Brandon Burton 6-0/185 Jr.
Runs a 4.35 in the 40.
Lamar Chapman 5-8/176 Sr.
Had 46 tackles, six pass breakups, 2 INTs in 2009.
Conroy Black 6-0/180 Jr.
Newcomer from Fullerton College has a 39-inch vertical jump. —
Utah blog
V Sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn sprained his thumb and is day-to-day, according to Utah officials.