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1 7 F O O T B A L L ME D I A G U I D E
ZOHN BURDEN
RUNNING BACKS
@CoachBurdenVT
THE BURDEN F I L E
Experience:
12th season/3rd at Virginia Tech
Hometown:
Virginia Beach, Va.
High School:
Salem (2002)
College:
VMI (2006)
Playing Exp:
VMI (2002-05)
Family:
Children – Zaria, Zamir and Langston
COACH I NG H I STORY
Year
School
Position
2016-17 Virginia Tech Running Backs
2015 Virginia Tech Wide Receivers
2012-14 Old Dominion Passing Game Coordinator/
Wide Receiver
2011 Richmond
Wide Receivers
2007-10 Old Dominion Defensive Backs
2006 Fork Union
Wide Receivers/
Defensive Backs
BOWL GAMES / PLAYOF FS
COACHED ( 3 )
2016 Belk
Virginia Tech
2015 Independence Virginia Tech
2012 FCS Playoffs Old Dominion
PROMI NENT PUP I LS
WR Isaiah Ford
D7-Miami – 2017
Owns Tech career records for receptions (210), yards
(2,967) and TD catches (24)
WR Tre Gray
AP All-America Third Team
WR Nick Mayers
All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team
WR Zach Pascal
All-Conference USA Honorable Mention
RB Sam Rogers D7-L.A. Rams – 2017
All-purpose performer
WR Antonio Vaughan
All-Conference USA First Team
PLAY I NG H I GHL I GHTS
• Three-time All-Big South wide receiver at VMI from
2002-05, finished his career with 162 receptions for
2,101 yards (13.0 avg.) with 12 touchdowns for the
Keydets.
• His 162 catches rank second in school history behind
only Mark Stock (165) while his yardage tally is third in
VMI history.
• Owns a share of a school record with a reception in 34
consecutive games.
• Racked up 58 catches for 742 yards and three TDs
as a senior in 2005, tying as the second-best season
reception total at the school. Also had 57 catches as a
junior in 2004.
• Registered two games with 10 catches during his
career, a mark that ties as the second-best single-game
tally in VMI history, while his five 100-yard contests are
the second-highest total in the VMI record book.
COACH I NG H I GHL I GHTS
• Talented and versatile coach enters his third season at
Virginia Tech, his second coaching running backs.
• Originally joined the Hokies as wide receivers coach in
2015.
• Selected to participate in NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity
Coaching Fellowship with the Washington Redskins during
camp in July 2017.
• Born and raised in the heart of the 757, Burden hails
from an area that has served as a hotbed of talent for the
Hokies for generations. Also owns experience coaching at
Fork Union Military Academy, a school that has produced a
distinguished pedigree of NFL performers.
• Helped groom RB Sam Rogers into a multiple-purpose
offensive threat.
• A record-setting collegiate receiver in his own right at VMI,
helped develop WR Isaiah Ford into Virginia Tech’s first pass
catcher to ever produce a 1,000-yard season in 2015 when
he set a single-season school record with 1,164 yards,
capping the year with a 12-catch, 227-yard effort in the
Independence Bowl.
• Joined the Hokies after a three-year stint as the passing
game coordinator and coaching wide receivers for Old
Dominion (2012-14).
• Prior to Virginia Tech, Burden spent three seasons at Old
Dominion (2012-14) in Norfolk, Virginia, where he groomed
1,000-yard wideouts such as Antonio Vaughan, Zach Pascal,
Larry Pinkard and Nick Mayers.
• Old Dominion was one of 13 FBS schools in 2014 to have
three players with 40 or more catches and one of 16 schools
to have four players with 30 or more receptions.
• Vaughan produced his best collegiate season with 63
catches for a league-high 1,019 yards under Burden’s
guidance in 2014 as his 12 touchdowns tied for fourth
among FCS programs.
• With Burden serving as passing game coordinator in 2013,
Old Dominion ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring offense
(42.3 ppg), fourth in passing offense (359.4 ypg) and
seventh in total offense (519.0 ypg) as Pinkard led the squad
with 68 catches for 1,020 yards.
• Helped lead the most prolific FCS offense in 2012 as the
Monarchs led the nation in scoring (45.2 ppg), total offense
(548.2 ypg), passing offense (393.8 ypg) and TD passes
(44). Mayers tied for second among FCS performers with
a school-record 16 TD catches. He also set single-season
school records with 79 catches for 1,233 yards earning All-
America honors from College Sports Madness and Beyond
Sports Network.
• Developed WR Tre Gray into a record-setting receiver at
Richmond in 2011. He earned third team All-America honors
from the AP after leading the Colonial Athletic Association
and setting Richmond single-season records with 95
receptions for 1,187 yards.
• Served as an integral part of one of the most successful
start-up programs in recent history as Old Dominion returned
to the field in 2009 after a 68-year absence.
• Joined the Old Dominion staff as defensive backs coach in
2007, helping to build a roster from scratch as the Monarchs
got on the field in 2009 and produced a 9-2 mark, the best
record for a first-year program in the modern era of college
football.
• Embarked on his coaching career in 2006 at Fork Union
Military Academy where he coached wide receivers and
defensive backs while also serving as the passing game
coordinator and recruiting liaison.