Missouri WR Luther Burden III Reminds Mike Elko Of an NFL Superstar

Missouri Tiger receiver Luther Burden III is one of the most talented players in all of college football, and Texas A&M Aggies coach Mike Elko was not shy about praising him.

Sep 21, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) returns a punt against Vanderbilt Commodores linebacker Nicholas Rinaldi (24) during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies have a major challenge ahead of them this Saturday, when the No. 9 Missouri Tigers come to Kyle Field.

That is true on both sides of the ball as well, with the Tigers heading to College Station with both a top-20 offense and a top-10 defense in tow.

However, amongst all of that talent, there is one player that stands out above the rest for the Tigers - star wide receiver Luther Burden III, who enters the game as arguably the best player at his position in the entire country.

According to Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko, Burden is so good, that he compares favorably to one of the NFL's best players at the position: San Francisco 49ers star Deebo Samuel.

In fact, he might be even better at this point in his career.

“We always try to make the best comparisons we can think of, and the best one we could think of was Deebo Samuel when he was a South Carolina,” Elko said. “I think Luther is maybe even more of an advanced pass-catcher at this point in his career.”

Like Samuel, Burden is no ordinary receiver. He is not just fast, and he doesn't just have good hands or a quick first step off the line.

He is all of those things, yes. But he is also a big, physical, and imposing athlete who causes matchup problems no matter where he lines up vs. the defense.

“He’s a different kind of slot because he’s so thick,” Elko said of Burden. “Normally when you think of slots you think of these twitchy, athletic guys, which he is. But they’re a little bit smaller, which he is not. He’s a big, tall, physical kid. So he can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands.”

So far this season, through four games, the 5-11, 208-pound Burden has 19 catches for 257 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per catch. He also has an 18-yard rushing touchdown and is a part of the return game.

That means that the junior is averaging 5.25 touches per game for 69.5 yards and 1.25 touchdowns per game this season on offense.

Suffice it to say, the Tigers are doing everything they can to make Burden the central part of their game plan when they can.

However, despite him being that obvious focal point for the Tigers' attack, Elko was insistent that the Aggies could not get too wrapped up in trying to defend him, due to the abundance of talent that the Tigers' offense has across the board.

“It’s really hard to keep the ball out of his hands,” Elko said. “We’ve got to try to limit his touches as best we can, and try to limit his explosive plays. Certainly, be aware of him, but we can’t do too much. They’ve got a lot of really talented players on their offense.”

Obviously that's easier said than done.

But if the Aggies can slow down Burden, their chances of coming out of the game with their first win over a top-10 team since November of 2022 could increase dramatically.

The Aggies and Tigers kick off at 11 am CT on ABC.