TCU lineman Ian Burnette is latest football player to walk away for medical reasons
Another TCU football player has ended his playing days because of medical reasons.
Reserve offensive lineman Ian Burnette has walked away from the game, multiple sources confirmed Monday. Backup quarterback Matthew Baldwin ended his career last week.
Burnette, a three-star prospect out of Wimberley and part of TCU’s 2018 recruiting class, never played in a game for the Horned Frogs. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2018, and sustained a season-ending injury last year.
Burnette wasn’t expected to compete for a starting job in 2020, but would have provided interior depth. Wes Harris and Quazzel White are two returners who started at guard last season. Others in the mix include John Lanz, Kellton Hollins and freshmen Garrett Hayes, Altrique Barlow and Brannon Brown.
Burnette joined TCU as the No. 38-ranked offensive guard in the country in 2018, according to 247Sports, and had offers from schools such as Arizona, Boise State, Colorado State, Houston, SMU and Ole Miss.
Horned Frog Blitz publisher Jeremy Clark first reported the news of Burnette stepping away from the game.
Transfer targets?
TCU is in the market for a couple big-name players in the transfer portal this summer.
The Frogs are reportedly targeting Nebraska wide receiver JD Spielman, the son of Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, and LSU linebacker Marcel Brooks, a former five-star prospect who played at Flower Mound Marcus.
Cal still on
TCU is still expected to open its season at Cal on Sept. 5, athletic director Jeremiah Donati said.
“Cal is still on,” Donati said on Monday.
There have been questions of whether the college football season could start on time, or even be played this fall, with the recent surge in coronavirus cases. But the season remains on for now.
TCU, like most schools, is in the midst of voluntary workouts.
The NCAA has laid out a six-week plan where programs starting on Sept. 5 would begin summer access activities July 13 with meetings and walk-throughs on July 24. Fall camp would begin on Aug. 7, 29 days before the start of the season.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 8:37 PM.
