MICHAEL BURCHETT
Michael Burchett played both basketball and football in high school, graduating from Prestonsburg in 2010. Burchett excelled in football. As a senior for the Blackcats he completed 185 of 284 passes with only six interceptions. In total he had 3142 passing yards, an average of 225 yards per game. Burchett also rushed for nine touchdowns and 424 yards. In that senior season his team only lost one game.
With all these wonderful stats is it any wonder that he caught the attention of so many? The 6’2 Burchett was chosen as the 2009 2A District 7 Player of the Year as a senior.
Burchett decided he wanted to walk on at the University of Kentucky. He did that and redshirted a season before getting some game action. He was observing and learning, but he had an itch to be on the field. He did a little research and found the West Virginia Mountaineers of Coach Dana Holgorson may be a good fit. He learned that Holgorson ran basically the same offense his high school coach John Derossett had run. He also knew there was a possibility of playing for the Mountaineers as a backup for Geno Smith and Paul Millard. So Michael Burchett transferred his 4.0 GPA along with his belongings and journeyed to Morgantown, WV.
While on the team at WVU Burchett realized just how much he loved football. He had studied it and decided he wanted to try his hand at coaching. After transferring to Centre College for a semester he journeyed back to Lexington as a graduate assistant at UK, working with the quarterbacks. He was later offered a position with Troy. Or he could stay at UK. Options are a quarterback thing after all. He chose neither. He once again went back to Morgantown to work with the Mountaineers’ quarterbacks as an assistant.
Coach Holgorson had decided to use offensive analysts in his program, so today that is how Burchett is listed. The job duties include assisting the coaching staff with quick and smooth transitions from one opponent to the next, creating scouting reports, evaluating film to compile advanced statistics and build game plans, charting statistics during practices and games, assisting the coaches with on-campus recruiting, taking part in the Mountaineer Athletic Club’s fundraising activities, and assisting the team’s Life Skills Coordinator with developmental programs.
From a newspaper account: In 2015 Holgorson said
He [Burchett] will be in charge of organizing the scripts as far as what I want to accomplish throughout the day. I sit in with offensive staff, and we talk and talk. His job is to sit down next to me and write stuff down and develop scripts that I can pass out to people. That’s kind of an offensive coordinator’s duty.”
I say it, he types it and organizes it. He is incredibly smart and incredibly organized when it comes to that. On game day, he will be upstairs reiterating what he sees, which is the same thing I did for Mike Leach and Hal Mumme for a long time when I was young.
He has a lot going on, and it takes a lot off of me when it comes to offensive coordinator and quarterback responsibilities. He is filling it wonderfully. I couldn’t do it without him. There is no way I could wear all three hats without him.
Watch for Michael Burchett’s name to appear more in the coming years. He is a rising star in the coaching profession.
