Brian Burns Determined To Become Leader on Dominant Panthers’ Defense | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of The Riot Report. The author of this post is Steven Taranto.


    A little over two years ago, Brian Burns walked into Bank of America Stadium for the first time as a Carolina Panther. Since then, almost everything around him has changed.

    The coaching staff and front office that drafted Burns are no longer in the building, with new coaches and personnel executives taking their place. Many of the players who were in the locker room when Burns arrived, franchise stalwarts among them, have also made their exit. As the Panthers have gone through the process of modernizing themselves, all sorts of details in Burns' surroundings — from the surface he'll play on to the very configuration of the grandstands — have changed from when he donned a Panthers uniform for the first time.

    In line with all that's gone on around him, Burns himself has changed too. He's no longer the promising newcomer on an experienced, veteran-led defense but rather, at still just 23 years old, one of the centerpieces of a young, developing defense That environment has understandably accelerated Burns' coming-of-age story, and as he now enters his third NFL season, he recognizes how the inexperience of the players around him last season created a change in his approach:

    "Towards the end of the season last year, I had to grow up. Even though it was my second year and I had limited snaps my first year," said Burns. "I had to grow up because I had basically a defense that was almost fully rookies. I think there was like, six or seven rookies playing at a time. So I had to grow up and kind of show them the ropes."

    [ ... ]

    Read the full article HERE on The Riot Report.