Joe Burnett
Encyclopedia
Joe Burnett is a CFL
cornerback
who currently plays for the Edmonton Eskimos
. He played college football for the UCF Knights
and high school football at Eustis High School in Eustis. Burnett has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
.
, 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
) and the school's first ever conference championship in 2007. He earned a total of eight career All-Conference USA honors, including a four-year sweep of the first-team punt returner award. He was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year as a senior. He graduated in 19th place for most career punt return yards in NCAA history with 1,304. That sum is both a UCF and Conference USA record. He set the UCF record, and ranked second in C-USA history with 16 career interceptions. He also set UCF career records for most punt returns (96) and the most interception return yards (262) while tying the mark for most punt return touchdowns (3). He played in 49 career games with 46 starts. He amassed 221 career tackles (172) including 12 TFLs. He had 16 career interceptions and broke up 35 others. He also returned 96 punts for 1,304 yards (13.6 avg.) with three touchdowns and returned 26 kickoffs for 745 yards (28.7 avg.) and a pair of scored. He received his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in December, 2008.
as a return specialist denied him this role. Still, Burnett was able to earn a spot on the 53-man roster due to his stellar defensive play. His final preseason statistics included 15 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 interception, and a blocked field goal.
Burnett was released by the Steelers on September 3, 2010 in order for the Steelers to meet the 53 man roster requirement.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
who currently plays for the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
. He played college football for the UCF Knights
UCF Knights
The UCF Knights are the athletics teams of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. All of UCF's varsity sports teams are known as the Knights, with the women's teams sometimes referred to as the "Lady Knights." The Knights, which includes the university's 16 varsity sports teams,...
and high school football at Eustis High School in Eustis. Burnett has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
College career
A record setting cornerback and returner for the University of Central Florida who was named a first-team All-American as a senior in 2008, helped UCF to its first two bowl berths (2005 Sheraton Hawaii BowlHawaii Bowl
The Hawaii Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either...
, 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
) and the school's first ever conference championship in 2007. He earned a total of eight career All-Conference USA honors, including a four-year sweep of the first-team punt returner award. He was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year as a senior. He graduated in 19th place for most career punt return yards in NCAA history with 1,304. That sum is both a UCF and Conference USA record. He set the UCF record, and ranked second in C-USA history with 16 career interceptions. He also set UCF career records for most punt returns (96) and the most interception return yards (262) while tying the mark for most punt return touchdowns (3). He played in 49 career games with 46 starts. He amassed 221 career tackles (172) including 12 TFLs. He had 16 career interceptions and broke up 35 others. He also returned 96 punts for 1,304 yards (13.6 avg.) with three touchdowns and returned 26 kickoffs for 745 yards (28.7 avg.) and a pair of scored. He received his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in December, 2008.
Awards and honors
- First-team ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
All-American (2008) - First-team Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
All-American (2008) - First-team Conference USAConference USAConference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
All-Freshman (2005) - 4x First-team All-Conference USAConference USAConference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
(2005–2008) - First-team CollegeFootballNews.comCollege Football NewsCollege Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
Freshman All-AmericaAll-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n (2005) - First-team FWAAFootball Writers Association of AmericaThe Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...
Freshman All-American (2005) - First-team Rivals.comRivals.comRivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
Freshman All-American (2005) - Third-team Sporting News Freshman All-America
Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe was drafted by the Steelers on the 32nd pick of the fifth round (168th overall). There was speculation that he would share duties in returning punts and kick returns, but the emergence of Stefan LoganStefan Logan
Stefan Logan is a wide receiver, running back and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
as a return specialist denied him this role. Still, Burnett was able to earn a spot on the 53-man roster due to his stellar defensive play. His final preseason statistics included 15 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 interception, and a blocked field goal.
Burnett was released by the Steelers on September 3, 2010 in order for the Steelers to meet the 53 man roster requirement.