Florida Safety Aubrey Burks Decommits From Indiana

Auburndale, Fla., native Aubrey Burks committed to Indiana in late June, but on Wednesday he decided to re-open his recruiting.

Because of virtual recruiting during this COVID-19 pandemic, Aubrey Burks never made it to Bloomington for a visit, but he committed to Indiana anyway on June 26. The Auburndale, Fla., safety loved that he seemed like a perfect fit for the Hoosiers' Husky position in its 4-2-5 defense.

But on Wednesday, Burks, who finally got to start his Auburndale football season last Friday, decommitted and reopened his recruitment. He said on Twitter that there is “no love lost for Indiana, they will still be a top school for me, but it is best for me to open back up my recruitment and evaluate all of my options. Thank you for everything. With much love, Aubrey Burks. ''

Here's the remainder of his Twitter comment: 

"I would like to thank the whole coaching staff for giving me and opportunity to be a student athlete at Indiana University. Coach Allen, Coach Teegardin and the rest of the coaching staff does believe in me and I do believe I can be a difference maker in their program, also within the community of Bloomington. Decisions like this are not always easy but I pray God will guide me in the right direction as I make the right decision to determine my future! I would like to announce I will be decommitting from Indiana University."

Burks is a 6-foot, 195-pound safety who plays a role in Auburndale's defense that's very similar to Indiana's Husky role. He's a hybrid linebacker/safefy who's the team leader on defense and had offers from Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and South Florida before deciding on Indiana.

His prime recruiter at Indiana originally was William Inge, who coached that position along with special teams before leaving last winter to become the defensive coordinator at Fresno State. Then Kasey Teegardin and Jason Jones took over and Burks seemed all in during an extensive interview in July with Sports Illustrated Indiana.

"It hasn't been too bad for me, getting recruited through Zoom. I had a couple of visits planned before this thing, and we had to cancel those,'' Burks said during an interview in the Auburndale locker room. "Coaches are good about showing the campus on Zoom, and my mom and dad have watched, too. I had about 10 Zoom meetings like that from different schools, and I really paid close attention. My mom did, too. She liked West Virginia, Pitt, and Indiana, too.''

"Indiana offered me last November, and they've been super loyal from the beginning. Coach Inge started it with me, and then when he left for Fresno State, Coach Teegardin stepped right in, and Coach Jones, too. I've talked to Coach Allen a lot, too. I love Coach Allen.

"Going from seven to one, it wasn't too hard. Indiana and Pittsburgh and a couple of others stood out. I got input from my family members, too. It was important to me to see how my family felt about it. Indiana showed me that loyalty and love, which I liked, but I also really like that there were already a lot of Florida guys there, too. That really meant a lot me.

Burks was one of three safety commits thus far, along with Jordan Grier of Ellenwood, Ga., and Maurice Freeman of Cheaspeake, Va.

Auburndale has had to start and stop preparations for its fall football season, and finally played its first game of a condensed schedule last Friday. Coached by Kyle Sasser, they are 1-0 and have several Division 1 recruits on their team.

The decommitment is something of a surprise because Burks seems like a good fit for a specific role at Indiana. Several schools, most notably South Florida in nearby Tampa, have continued to express interest in Burks, even after the commitment. Auburndale teammate Jaelen Stokes is a South Florida commit.

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