Five Questions With RBs Coach Zohn Burden

757 Native discusses Redskins' fellowship, ODU series and more

August 4, 2017

Editor’s note: Throughout fall camp we’ll periodically catch up with student-athletes and coaches for five questions. Photo credit – Daniel Sangjib Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch

Q: What was the most eye-opening part of your experience serving a Bill Walsh Fellowship with the Washington Redskins?

BURDEN: “The preparation that those players put in, those coaches put in prior to practice and post practice. The amount of preparation they put in to focus on football and the details.”

Q: What was it like being around Hokies who are now with the Redskins as players and coaches?

BURDEN: “It was great, running into Kendall (Fuller) and the guys (Torrian Gray) that were here during the time that I have been here so far. Seeing DeAngelo (Hall) and guys that I’ve known since I was a high schooler myself. It was good to see those guys and he’s been doing it for 14 years, it’s a blessing to be around those guys and see their point of view, the players’ perspective on how things are handled and how we can get better around here.”

Q: Are there anything you took from working with an NFL that you can implement here at Tech?

BURDEN: “Yes, there are a few things. I worked with the running backs coach Randy Jordan and I pretty much stole everything that he had. As he told me when I got there, ‘there’s not any secrets, we are all trying to help each other.’ He definitely gave me some pointers. We watched some Virginia Tech film together so he definitely gave me some pointers on how to improve the running backs.”

Q: Ball security drills are a staple of Coach Fuente’s practices. How important is ball security to you as running backs coach?

BURDEN: “I think every day we always have to be conscious of the ball because that’s the most important thing on the field. As Coach Fuente would say, ‘You have the lifeline of everyone on the team and the whole organization, their life is in jeopardy when you’ve got that ball in your hands.’ So that’s how we look at it, that’s how serious we take it so we want to nail that in their heads every single day.”

Q: As someone born and raised in the 757, as well as a coach who recruits that area, what are your thoughts on the Old Dominion series and playing in Norfolk next year?

BURDEN: “I think it’s good. It is going to be good for those families that we go and try to recruit those kids, for them to actually see us down there in that area as a team, as a program and hopefully we’ll win those games when we’re down there. I think it will be good for all of those local kids that sometimes can’t drive all the way to Blacksburg to come see us play. They will be able to drive 15-20 minutes and see us play, see the coaches and how we coach and see us live, I think it will be a good thing.”

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