Oklahoma's Secondary Wary of 'Home-run Hitter' Luther Burden

Brent Venables praised the Missouri wide receiver as one of the "best players in college football" ahead of OU's trip to Columbia, MO.

Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III during warm ups at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / Butch Dill-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s defense is getting thrown immediately back into the fire after a straightforward outing against Maine. 

This weekend’s trip to take on No. 24 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC) will pit OU’s secondary against one of the nation’s premier receivers, Luther Burden. 

The one-time Sooner commit was one of 2023’s breakout stars. He caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine scores, fueling the Tigers’ offense. 

Burden has played through some injuries this year. That, paired with Missouri quarterback Brady Cook’s own injury struggles, have led to Burden entering the week with 40 catches for 450 yards and four touchdowns, but the Tigers still work to use him in every possible way to positively impact the game. 

“They find a lot of different creative ways to get him the ball in space, a touch game and then he can really challenge you vertically," OU coach Brent Venables said on Tuesday. “He's a home-run hitter. He's the ultimate competitor.”

Burden will be a major test for the younger pieces of Oklahoma’s secondary. 

Against Maine, true freshman Eli Bowen started on the outside alongside sophomore Jacobe Johnson. It marked Bowen’s fourth start of the year, as he’s quickly gotten acclaimed to life in the Southeastern Conference. 

And though Burden, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, won’t have an insurmountable height advantage over Bowen, the talented pass catcher will still stress the OU (5-4, 1-4) secondary. 

“We have to defend his yards after the catch,” Bowen said. “He can make people miss easily. He’s good at changing direction, good at making people miss and being deceptive. We got to get him down when it comes to open-field tackles.”

Burden’s ability to make guys miss with the ball in his hands has always been evident. 

It’s what drew Lincoln Riley to pursue him out of high school, and it has always been at the top of defender’s minds. 

Oklahoma linebacker Dasan McCullough hasn’t played Burden throughout his collegiate career, but he remembers working against the Missouri wide receiver at his high school All-American game before arriving at Indiana as a freshman. 

“He's quick, fast, instinctive,” McCullough said. “When he catches the ball, he's like a running back.”

Identifying where Burden lines up will be a priority for the Sooners regardless of if Cook can play or if Missouri has to roll with backup quarterback Drew Pyne, but the defense can’t lose sight of their responsibilities on each play or the Tigers will find other ways to hurt Oklahoma. 

Former OU wide receiver Theo Wease has 482 yards and one score on 37 catches, and the Tigers use a host of tight ends and running backs in their passing game as holes open up in the defense over the middle of the field. 

“I think it's important that guys do their job,” Venables said. “You have to have awareness of where he is. He's got the most touches on the team when it comes to the receiving room. But they also got Theo Wease. They got really good tight ends and really good backs. 

“(Burden’s) one of the best players in all of college football.”