Burnette announces football commitment to Auburn

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Andalusia Bulldog standout J’Marion Burnette has decided to take his football skills to the next level as an Auburn Tiger.

Burnette announced on Friday his plans to join Auburn upon graduating from AHS. As a junior this year, he still has one more season with the Bulldogs.

According to 247Sports, Burnette is a 4-star recruit. He is the number one running back in the state for the 2024 graduating class and number 10 nationwide. Overall, regardless of position, Burnette is the number eight recruit in Alabama and 158th nationally.

Burnette received scholarship offers from Division I universities across the nation. Auburn joined the list of colleges he was considering in November. That list also included: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and Texas. He received 23 scholarship offers during the recruiting process.

Burnette joins as a member of Auburn’s first full recruiting class under new head coach Hugh Freeze. Burnette joins other standouts like quarterback Walker White and defensive backs A’Mon Lane and Jayden Lewis.

With Burnette’s announcement, Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class jumped from number 27 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings to number eight.

Burnette is listed as a 6-foot-1, 225-pound runningback, making him one of only three nationally to be listed at 220 pounds or more.

In his career at Andalusia High School, Burnette has amassed over 4,000 rushing yards, averaging more than 100 yards per game the past two seasons.

As a sophomore and junior, Burnette carried the ball 513 times for 3,724 yards and 29 touchdowns.

During his junior season with the Bulldogs, Burnette shared carries with senior Dorian Crittenden. The two running backs helped lead the Bulldogs to a state championship. Burnette led Andalusia with 1,473 rushing yards in his junior year while Crittenden was just behind him with 1,467 yards. Both finished the season with 17 touchdowns.

Burnette announced his decision to attend Auburn on Friday, stating the close relationship he built with Auburn recruiters, including Carnell Williams. Also considered in his decision was Auburn’s proximity to his hometown.