Burgess-Becker embraces new role
Shawn Burgess-Becker knows his time will come.
Ineligible to play this season after transferring in from Alabama, the talented safety from Miami intends to do everything else to help make UCF a better team. That's giving his all in practice as a member of the scout team, helping the offense get ready for each week's opponent, all the while preparing himself for 2017 when it's likely he becomes a key piece of a secondary that will graduate four senior starters.
Burgess-Becker, rated by Rivals.com as a four-star prospect and the No. 11 safety in the Class of 2015, had UCF in his early top five before making an early commitment to Alabama in the spring of his junior year. He saw immediate playing time with the Crimson Tide on special teams last year, but following the spring expressed a desire to make a change. He enrolled at UCF for the Summer B session.
"Things went pretty well my freshman year, but I didn't really feel like I was at home," Burgess-Becker said after a recent practice. "I took a couple visits before I took a visit here and met with Coach (Travis) Fisher and Coach (Scott) Frost. I met with a couple players too, Drico (Johnson) and (Rashard) Causey. I just felt like I was at home. I'm originally from Miami, so me being three hours away makes me feel so comfortable. I can go home if there are any problems. I feel real comfortable with it. I feel like I can make a big impact next year."
From the first meeting, Burgess-Becker knew this was the staff he wanted to play for.
"I met with Coach Frost and he was like, 'Take your time. You don't have to rush into anything. We're not going to pressure you to commit. We would love to have you here.' I really connected with Coach Fisher too. I didn't know much about him, but once I got here and met him as a person, we bonded. He knows how it is. We kind of connected. I just felt like if I have problems or anything, I can talk to him about it. Coach Fisher is a pretty cool guy. He really understands the players. He'll help us out when we need it."
Burgess-Becker admitted it's tough not being able to play, but he'll take this year to better himself as a player so he'll be ready to step in next season.
"Coach Frost told me when I committed that this is going to be one of the toughest times of your college career because you have to sit out," Burgess-Becker said. "You've got to take a lot of mental reps. Coach Frost said, 'We're going to need you to stay focused because we're going to really need you for next year.' I'm just trying to buy into the program and everything they're trying to achieve here. I'm going to do what I have to do, on and off the field to make this team better.
"My goal this season is to just get these mental reps in and try to learn this playbook as well as I can for the next upcoming season. Just try and be a team player. Motivate our team to do better. I really want to see this program succeed. I just want to be that guy that can encourage the players to do better and just be that good teammate they need."