Joe Frank Burns is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

.

High school

Burns attended Thomas County Central High School in Georgia. He was a four-year letterwinner in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

, and also won two varsity letter

Varsity letter

A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...

s in track

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

. In football, he rushed for 4547 yards and 56 touchdowns during his last two years of high school football, and as a senior, he was named the Georgia Player of the Year, and was an USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

Honorable Mention All-USA selection. He also Has a Cousin In Avon Indiana Named Charles Davis Jr. who plays Runningback and who is a rising star in the area class of 2012

College

Burns attended Georgia Tech

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 and played for the Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...

. He was an All-Conference running back, and left as the fourth leading rusher in school history.

Retirement

Joe Burns retired in 2006 and now is the Co-Founder of RisingSeniors.com and the Georgia Junior Bowl. RisingSeniors.com has formed a very critical alliance with the NFL Players Association to introduce a character and life skills development program designed to provide resources to assist students dealing with the challenges ahead. RisingSeniors.com is a free program created to prepare high school junior student-athletes for their senior year by equipping them with the necessary tools to thrive academically, athletically and socially. We believe these tools are necessary for a successful transition to their senior year, college and beyond. The Georgia Junior Bowl will be the first all-star football game of its kind showcasing the top high school junior football players in the state of Georgia, the purpose of the game is to enhance student athletes recruiting exposure before their senior year. Joe Burns is also educating high school athletes and families across the country on the college recruiting process as an educational speaker for the National Collegiate Scouting Association.