Jermaine Burton Talks Decision to Leave Georgia, Meshing with His Teammates
Jermaine Burton filled an immediate void at the wide receiver position when he transferred to Alabama in January. With three of its top four pass catchers in 2021 off to the NFL, Burton figures to be a big part of the offense this season. The junior wideout spoke with reporters on Monday, he talked about his decision to leave Georgia and gelling with his new teammates.
"I was just trying to make the best decision for me and my family,” Burton said. “I couldn't thank this program enough for the way they welcomed me and brought me in and treated me like one of their own.”
Burton helped Georgia defeat Alabama 33-18 in the national championship and admits he wasn’t sure how his teammates would accept him.
“I honestly thought it was gonna be like some guys who still felt some kind of way about the game or some guys who had envy or any kind of animosity,” Burton said. “But this team brought me in with unbelievable arms and welcomed me. We didn’t have any sort of issue about that. I honestly got more congratulated than anything. The guys just brought me in, they wanted me to work with them and I honestly forgot about that game. I wanna win it with this team.”
Burton caught 53 passes for 901 yards and eight touchdowns in 24 career games at Georgia. He immediately got to work when he arrived on his campus and began developing a strong rapport with Heisman trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young.
“My entire mindset when I even came into this program was just to work and try to understand the offense, get it down with Bryce and work with a lot of the players that had just came in with me because there’s freshman players that came in with me as well, another transfer as well,” Burton said. “So my main focus is on those guys and making sure our bond is all good and together and everybody is on the same page, regardless of what grade you’re in, because whoever’s on the field is gonna have to produce.”
Safety DeMarcco Hellams was asked what he’s seen from the new Alabama wideout.
“Speed. Jermaine he’s fast, he gets vertical fast. He’s a good route runner."
Alabama football kicks off its season on Saturday, September 3, 2022, against Utah State. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. Radio coverage will be on Tide 100.9 and the Tide 100.9 app, which is free to download in the App Store.