Joe Burns was born and raised in Thomasville, Georgia – home of The Thomas Country Central Yellow Jackets. While a student athlete at Central, Burns’ team was fortunate to win three state championships in four years. Unfortunately, the story at Central was not all victory. The talent level of those playing with Burns was undeniable, however few of Burns’ teammates were able to play at the collegiate level. As the championships would imply, athletic talent and capabilities were not the question – information was. Burns was honored by winning the Georgia Player of the Year both his Junior and Senior years, as well as being selected Honorable Mention for USA Today All-USA and so received the necessary publicity and visibility to be offered a full scholarship to Georgia Tech. Once again a proud Yellow Jacket, Joe began making contributions to the team during his first year, ultimately becoming an All-ACC running back in his junior year. After only three years, Joe became the fourth leading rusher in Tech’s history and second in scoring with 34 touchdowns. Following Tech, Joe went to the NFL and played for the Buffalo Bills for four consecutive years.
However, through all of his success Burns truly believes that college was the difference-maker and he feels that more of his high school teammates would have had the same opportunity if they had more information about the recruiting process.
