When Andy Burburrija joins the Clemson soccer crew this summer time, he’s anticipated to rapidly make an influence.
Burburija spent his first two seasons taking part in on the JUCO stage, and when he signed with the Tigers in February, he turned the primary JUCO addition of the Dabo Swinney period.
While defensive coordinator Tom Allen beloved his movie, he wasn’t satisfied Burburija had the scale he was in search of. When Allen lastly laid eyes on Burburija, his thoughts was modified.
“When I first watched his film, I was really fired up,” Allen stated. “I just wasn’t sure how big he was. He is one I didn’t know a lot about. And when we got him here, it was like, ‘Whoa.’ He is big. He is a big, thick, strong, powerful dude.”
When Burburija lastly does begin participating in crew actions, Allen expects him to carry a stage of physicality that was lacking, at occasions, from the inside of his line of defense a season in the past.
“I believe his superpower is just going to be his physical strength and knock back,” Allen added. “He is playing good football now, coming from that level, JUCO. Very excited about getting him here this summer. Wish he was here this spring, but he is not. He will be here in the summer. He is actually here right now with his parents visiting.”
Burburija was a JUCO All-American after a completely dominant sophomore season that noticed him assist lead his crew to a nationwide title. The 6-foot-2, 295-pounder was a one-man wrecking crew, ending with 45 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks.
In the JUCO nationwide title recreation, he totaled a career-high eight tackles, 2.5 for loss with two sacks, and that’s the type of manufacturing Allen is in search of from Burburija in 2026.
“What a tough kid, physical,” Allen stated. “I think he is going to bring more of that to that room. We know we needed it, and that is what we went for. That is a big part of us going after him. Even after he made a decision to go somewhere else. Big, powerful guy that has great get-off. He fits our system. And once we got to know him, we felt he fit us as a person.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Burburija on Instagram
