Dream destination: Blake Burris grew up wanting to play for Texas Tech and now has his chance

When Brandon Carter visited a Texas Tech football practice not long ago, Blake Burris felt a little in awe.

Aside from earning consensus all-America recognition as an offensive lineman during the Red Raiders' 11-win season of 2008, Carter attracted attention with his game-day face paint and a Mohawk hairstyle. As a youth football player in Irving, Burris did his best to emulate Carter's look to a T, the face paint and the Mohawk included.

"When I was a kid, that was my favorite player," Burris said.

Burris already had a vested interest in Texas Tech football, being a younger brother of Mike Leach-era defensive backs Brent and Trent Nickerson. Now he's trying to follow in their footsteps by making his own mark with the Red Raiders. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound sophomore is a candidate for a spot in the rotation next season at defensive tackle.

Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford are the returning starters at that position, but defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch needs young backups such as Dooda Banks and Burris, as well as upperclassmen Quincy Ledet and Robert Wooten, to be playable depth options.

Asked what Burris brings to the table, Fitch said, "He's 6-5, 300 pounds, long arms. The fun thing about a kid like that, you see the growth and maturation level. And when you're 6-5 and 300 ... they get real fun to coach."

Aside from his massive size, Burris has agility that either led him to or developed from a background in basketball, perhaps his first love. He played on youth basketball travel teams with Stanford forward Harrison Ingram and Indiana State guard Julian Larry, as well as a pair of high picks in last week's NFL draft: Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims.

They all went to high schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

"My eighth-grade year, we won the Fab 64 in Las Vegas," Burris said. "I believe at one point when I was playing with YGC 36 — it's Marcus Smart's Adidas team — we were ranked top 10 in the country."

Former Tech running back SaRodorick Thompson and Burris have known each other since early childhood in Irving. Thompson played with another Burris brother, former Texas A&M-Commerce linebacker Bryse Burris, in youth football. Thompson brought up Blake Burris' name last year when discussing talented basketball players on the Tech football team.

"Blake can move," Thompson said. "He'll be telling people he's a big guard."

Blake Burris played his senior high-school season at Dallas Parish Episcopal. Before that, he went to Irving MacArthur, where the Nickersons played and where Brent was his defensive coordinator.

Brent Nickerson is now a coach in the Flower Mound ISD. Trent Nickerson is a middle-school head principal in the Irving ISD.

After a strong junior season, Burris committed to Air Force. After high school, he spent a year at the academy's prep school. He wound up transferring to Tech, even though he had to walk on and even though coaches wanted him to as an offensive lineman and Burris feels more comfortable on the defensive line.

"I definitely had a lot of valuable lessons going there," Burris said of the academy's prep school, "but I just realized it wasn't for me and I kind of feel like Texas Tech was always my home.

"One of the biggest drawbacks in my recruiting is that Texas Tech wanted me to play o-line, but I decided that it was definitely worth it to come to Lubbock anyway and make the transition."

Last spring, Tech coaches switched Burris back to the defensive line, where he excelled in high school. Even better, he's doing it in a Red Raiders uniform. He played in all 13 games last season with a regular spot as a personal protector on the punt team.

"Walking down the tunnel for the first time, I got goose bumps," Burris said. "I still get goose bumps to this day every time I walk out on that field. It just feels like home, and even with the new coaching staff, nothing about Lubbock has changed. Nothing about the fan base has changed. If anything, it's been more supportive since I've been here, so I love Lubbock to death."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Dream destination: Blake Burris grew up wanting to play for Texas Tech and now has his chance