LONG ROAD TO HERE
9/20/2023 8:56:00 AM | Football
Walk-on receiver has survived three injuries to earn starting job
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
As a freshman walk-on receiver, Jonah Burton had a "welcome-to-college" moment two years ago when he had a one-on-one rep against veteran Baylor cornerback Raleigh Texada.
"I was lined up at outside receiver and had a go route," Burton said. "At the line of scrimmage, Raleigh hit me in the chest. I tried to run, and he's just holding me for 50 yards, just pressing me. And I was like, 'Oh my goodness!' And then, he makes this diving interception on the ball. I'm standing there just dumbfounded, like, 'Dang, this is college.'''
Those feelings came flooding back in Baylor's 2023 season opener against Texas State, when the 5-foot-10, 197-pound redshirt sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., stepped on the field as one of the deep backs for a kickoff return.
"I'm standing in the back, and I look up and see the whole stadium. I see the lights, I see the audience cheering. And I'm like, 'Oh my goodness!''' he said. "I feel my heartbeat going. I was taking these deep breaths, saying, 'I'm good, I'm good. We do this every day.' I'm kind of sitting back there taking it all in, and I'm just like, 'Wow, I'm here. This is what I'm doing now.'''
After being on the field for literally one play in his first two seasons – blocking on a punt return in last year's game at Texas – Burton had a breakout game in the 2023 season opener with five catches for 88 yards, including 43 yards after catch.
"He's a grinder and just brings a positive energy to the locker room every day," said junior tight end Jake Roberts. "Maybe a guy that not a lot of people thought was going to be a focal point. But he showed up on Saturday and balled out. We all knew that was a really good possibility, because we see how he works every day."
Transferring from Chaminade College Prep to Simi Valley High School for his junior year, Burton was part of an 11-4 team in 2019 that played in the CIF Southern Section Championship game, hauling in 38 catches for 427 yards and three touchdowns with two blocked punts and two fumble recoveries.
At one of the football camps before a COVID-shortened senior season, Burton suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee during a rep, when he caught the ball over a defensive back and landed wrong.
"They told me I was lucky to only have the torn PCL," he said. "But the PCL is on the bottom, so you have to tear your ACL and tear your MCL to repair the PCL. So, it's just easier to strengthen your knee (rehab). I strengthened my quad, my hamstring, just all around it, to get it back better."
With limited recruiting in the spring of 2021, his adjusted plan was just to apply to different colleges and walk on. And since all three of his siblings were in school at the same time, the decision was ultimately based on which school could offer the most financial aid.
Jonah went to the final round of interviews for a full academic ride in engineering at Indiana and was also interested in going to Hawaii because of his Polynesian background.
"And then, here comes Baylor," he said. "They were giving me the most, financial-wise. And I felt like it was God telling me. My dad kept telling me to apply to Baylor, apply to Baylor. And I didn't want to go. But when they gave me the most money, I was like, 'Okay, I think this is the place.'''
Coming to Baylor in the summer of 2021, he roomed with fellow walk-ons Josh Cameron and Gavin Yates.
"When we met, it felt like Josh and I kind of clicked," Jonah said. "He shied away, but I was trying to pry it out of him. I'm more of an open type of guy. I love having fun and stuff. So, I just kept picking at him until he felt more comfortable."
While Yates and Cameron both saw the field that first year, Jonah was running a route during a midweek practice and felt a pop . . . this time, in the right knee.
"I'm freaking out, because I spent probably seven months just building back up my PCL," he said. "I didn't realize that I was putting a lot more stress on the other leg. I had a torn meniscus to the center of my joint.
"Normally, if it's just a little bit, they'll scoop it out. Abe (Abram Smith) had one the week before, and he played the next week. But with mine, they said it had to be repaired. I remember I was in the training room every day, just trying to get back. Mentally, I wasn't in a healthy place at all, because I wanted to start fast and take the burden off my dad and make him proud of me because he had put so much faith in me."
Coming out of surgery, Jonah had dropped to 175 pounds. "I hadn't been 175 pounds since my freshman year of high school," he said.
But while he was rehabbing, the weight room became his sanctuary. Working out with strength coaches Tim Johnson and Vic Viloria, Jonah got back up to 220 pounds and was bench-pressing 455.
"Lifting was the only way I could just get my feelings out," he said. "Coach Vic would see me every morning and tell me, 'Don't chase your emotions in the wrong type of ways,' because that was a big issue for me. But just finding the weight room, finding my trainer, Jess (Emfinger), she helped me so much. Coach Vic, Coach Tim, helping me find a different way to cope."
Coming back for fall camp last year, Jonah had dropped back down to 203 and was getting his confidence back when he suffered a hamstring injury the week before the 2022 season opener.
"That took a toll on me again, just fighting to get back," he said. "It was game eight or game nine when I get back to 100%, and (receivers coach Dallas Baker) doesn't want to travel me because they already have their guys. But he told me after the season that I was supposed to be 'the guy' on special teams.
"Just fighting through that whole season mentally, physically, was such a strain, because I'm fighting for a job that I had at the beginning but wasn't being offered anymore because we had such a deep room. But the receivers room and Coach (Baker) helped me get through it."
Despite a strong spring, Jonah went into fall camp this year as the No. 4 slot receiver behind Monaray Baldwin, Jordan Nabors and Cameron Bonner. After a practice when several of the receivers went down with muscle cramps, Jonah texted Coach Baker and said, "I don't want to sound arrogant or rude, but I really care about our room. And I feel like I could help more."
Instead of filling him with excuses or reasons, Baker simply replied, "Just trust God's plan."
"I always pray every night," he said, "but I started saying little prayers on the field. Coming out of a rep, just praying a small prayer, just trying to lower my levels of anxiety and taking a deep breath so that I'm good. And I was also encouraging other people in the room, trying to fill a leadership role. And my role started slowly changing going into game one."
In that season-opening loss to Texas State, Burton hauled in five catches for 88 yards and has a modest string of three-consecutive games with a reception coming out of a 30-7 win over Long Island. He is fourth on the team with seven catches for 104 yards, behind only Ketron Jackson Jr., Hal Presley and tight end Drake Dabney.
"He has a great energetic presence in the locker room and in the weight room," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said of Burton. "It's crazy how the off the field drives what's happening on the field. But he is someone that's completely turned on right now. So, it's really cool to see."
While he would love to earn a scholarship, like Cameron did a little over a year ago, Jonah no longer stresses about it.
"A lot of guys are like, 'Hey, when's the (scholarship) check hitting?' And I'll say, 'Yeah, bro, mine hasn't hit either,''' he said. "It always takes them a couple minutes to be like, 'Oh, you're messing with me.' If I do get it, it would be amazing; I really do want one. But it's all in God's hands, if they do give it to me, if they don't. I just try to keep my mind off of it, just try to play football right now."
Baylor (1-2) opens Big 12 play this Saturday, hosting third-ranked Texas (3-0) for a 6:30 p.m. matchup at McLane Stadium that will be televised nationally by ABC.
Baylor Bear Insider
As a freshman walk-on receiver, Jonah Burton had a "welcome-to-college" moment two years ago when he had a one-on-one rep against veteran Baylor cornerback Raleigh Texada.
"I was lined up at outside receiver and had a go route," Burton said. "At the line of scrimmage, Raleigh hit me in the chest. I tried to run, and he's just holding me for 50 yards, just pressing me. And I was like, 'Oh my goodness!' And then, he makes this diving interception on the ball. I'm standing there just dumbfounded, like, 'Dang, this is college.'''
Those feelings came flooding back in Baylor's 2023 season opener against Texas State, when the 5-foot-10, 197-pound redshirt sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., stepped on the field as one of the deep backs for a kickoff return.
"I'm standing in the back, and I look up and see the whole stadium. I see the lights, I see the audience cheering. And I'm like, 'Oh my goodness!''' he said. "I feel my heartbeat going. I was taking these deep breaths, saying, 'I'm good, I'm good. We do this every day.' I'm kind of sitting back there taking it all in, and I'm just like, 'Wow, I'm here. This is what I'm doing now.'''
After being on the field for literally one play in his first two seasons – blocking on a punt return in last year's game at Texas – Burton had a breakout game in the 2023 season opener with five catches for 88 yards, including 43 yards after catch.
"He's a grinder and just brings a positive energy to the locker room every day," said junior tight end Jake Roberts. "Maybe a guy that not a lot of people thought was going to be a focal point. But he showed up on Saturday and balled out. We all knew that was a really good possibility, because we see how he works every day."
Transferring from Chaminade College Prep to Simi Valley High School for his junior year, Burton was part of an 11-4 team in 2019 that played in the CIF Southern Section Championship game, hauling in 38 catches for 427 yards and three touchdowns with two blocked punts and two fumble recoveries.
At one of the football camps before a COVID-shortened senior season, Burton suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee during a rep, when he caught the ball over a defensive back and landed wrong.
"They told me I was lucky to only have the torn PCL," he said. "But the PCL is on the bottom, so you have to tear your ACL and tear your MCL to repair the PCL. So, it's just easier to strengthen your knee (rehab). I strengthened my quad, my hamstring, just all around it, to get it back better."
With limited recruiting in the spring of 2021, his adjusted plan was just to apply to different colleges and walk on. And since all three of his siblings were in school at the same time, the decision was ultimately based on which school could offer the most financial aid.
Jonah went to the final round of interviews for a full academic ride in engineering at Indiana and was also interested in going to Hawaii because of his Polynesian background.
"And then, here comes Baylor," he said. "They were giving me the most, financial-wise. And I felt like it was God telling me. My dad kept telling me to apply to Baylor, apply to Baylor. And I didn't want to go. But when they gave me the most money, I was like, 'Okay, I think this is the place.'''
Coming to Baylor in the summer of 2021, he roomed with fellow walk-ons Josh Cameron and Gavin Yates.
"When we met, it felt like Josh and I kind of clicked," Jonah said. "He shied away, but I was trying to pry it out of him. I'm more of an open type of guy. I love having fun and stuff. So, I just kept picking at him until he felt more comfortable."
While Yates and Cameron both saw the field that first year, Jonah was running a route during a midweek practice and felt a pop . . . this time, in the right knee.
"I'm freaking out, because I spent probably seven months just building back up my PCL," he said. "I didn't realize that I was putting a lot more stress on the other leg. I had a torn meniscus to the center of my joint.
"Normally, if it's just a little bit, they'll scoop it out. Abe (Abram Smith) had one the week before, and he played the next week. But with mine, they said it had to be repaired. I remember I was in the training room every day, just trying to get back. Mentally, I wasn't in a healthy place at all, because I wanted to start fast and take the burden off my dad and make him proud of me because he had put so much faith in me."
Coming out of surgery, Jonah had dropped to 175 pounds. "I hadn't been 175 pounds since my freshman year of high school," he said.
But while he was rehabbing, the weight room became his sanctuary. Working out with strength coaches Tim Johnson and Vic Viloria, Jonah got back up to 220 pounds and was bench-pressing 455.
"Lifting was the only way I could just get my feelings out," he said. "Coach Vic would see me every morning and tell me, 'Don't chase your emotions in the wrong type of ways,' because that was a big issue for me. But just finding the weight room, finding my trainer, Jess (Emfinger), she helped me so much. Coach Vic, Coach Tim, helping me find a different way to cope."
Coming back for fall camp last year, Jonah had dropped back down to 203 and was getting his confidence back when he suffered a hamstring injury the week before the 2022 season opener.
"That took a toll on me again, just fighting to get back," he said. "It was game eight or game nine when I get back to 100%, and (receivers coach Dallas Baker) doesn't want to travel me because they already have their guys. But he told me after the season that I was supposed to be 'the guy' on special teams.
"Just fighting through that whole season mentally, physically, was such a strain, because I'm fighting for a job that I had at the beginning but wasn't being offered anymore because we had such a deep room. But the receivers room and Coach (Baker) helped me get through it."
Despite a strong spring, Jonah went into fall camp this year as the No. 4 slot receiver behind Monaray Baldwin, Jordan Nabors and Cameron Bonner. After a practice when several of the receivers went down with muscle cramps, Jonah texted Coach Baker and said, "I don't want to sound arrogant or rude, but I really care about our room. And I feel like I could help more."
Instead of filling him with excuses or reasons, Baker simply replied, "Just trust God's plan."
"I always pray every night," he said, "but I started saying little prayers on the field. Coming out of a rep, just praying a small prayer, just trying to lower my levels of anxiety and taking a deep breath so that I'm good. And I was also encouraging other people in the room, trying to fill a leadership role. And my role started slowly changing going into game one."
In that season-opening loss to Texas State, Burton hauled in five catches for 88 yards and has a modest string of three-consecutive games with a reception coming out of a 30-7 win over Long Island. He is fourth on the team with seven catches for 104 yards, behind only Ketron Jackson Jr., Hal Presley and tight end Drake Dabney.
"He has a great energetic presence in the locker room and in the weight room," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said of Burton. "It's crazy how the off the field drives what's happening on the field. But he is someone that's completely turned on right now. So, it's really cool to see."
While he would love to earn a scholarship, like Cameron did a little over a year ago, Jonah no longer stresses about it.
"A lot of guys are like, 'Hey, when's the (scholarship) check hitting?' And I'll say, 'Yeah, bro, mine hasn't hit either,''' he said. "It always takes them a couple minutes to be like, 'Oh, you're messing with me.' If I do get it, it would be amazing; I really do want one. But it's all in God's hands, if they do give it to me, if they don't. I just try to keep my mind off of it, just try to play football right now."
Baylor (1-2) opens Big 12 play this Saturday, hosting third-ranked Texas (3-0) for a 6:30 p.m. matchup at McLane Stadium that will be televised nationally by ABC.
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