Burgin Brothers Have All Had Chance to Quarterback Scots
It’s become a weekly fall tradition for Blake Burgin to settle in and listen to his brothers play quarterback for the Scots on the radio. Although Blake, who also played quarterback for Highland Park, is the oldest of the three siblings, he’s the only one who did not start on varsity.
“It’s been great to watch,” said Blake, now a graduate assistant coach at Mary Hardin-Baylor. “They grew up practicing with me and my dad. To get to see them play and follow it from afar, talk to them about it, and see the success they’ve had is fun for an older brother. I’d much rather get to watch them play than play myself.”
Middle brother Brady, who now attends Texas A&M, led the Scots to a 24-2 record and a pair of district titles as the starter in 2010 and 2011. And younger brother Brooks, 16, has stepped into the starting role as a junior this season. He and the Scots (2-1) open District 10-4A play at Forney tonight.
“As a kid,” Brooks said. “I went to all of the games — junior varsity when my brothers were playing on Thursdays and then varsity on Fridays. I started playing quarterback when I started playing football. It was just a family thing.”
The Burgin family tradition of playing quarterback goes beyond just the brothers. Their dad, Jon, played quarterback for Hillcrest High School, which squared off with Highland Park in the playoffs Brady’s junior year.
“It’s been fun to watch them, obviously,” Jon said, “but it’s also been a lot of fun to see them out there with their friends they grew up playing with. That’s been special to see, too.”
All three brothers have been coached by Randy Allen, who said the Burgins have different personalties and varying degrees of seriousness.
“I’m usually calling one of them by the wrong name,” Allen said. “They’re all different, but they were all fun to coach. They all care about football.”
When Blake, 22, arrived in high school, the Scots were busy winning a Class 4A state championship with current Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford at the helm in 2005. With Winston Gamso and Dutch Crews calling the signals two years later, Highland Park made a return appearance in the title game, losing to Austin Lake Travis in a 36-34 thriller. Blake’s only varsity action came when he attempted six passes his senior year, which was also Brady’s freshman year.
“One brother does it and grows up watching the other brother doing it,” said Blake, who also served as a student manager for the University of Oklahoma’s football team. “It just kind of trickles down. It’s definitely a unique thing.”
Brady, 20, got his first taste of Highland Park varsity football when Blake was on the team.
“When he and all of his friends would be at the house, I would always hear about their varsity stories,” Brady said. “I was always looking forward to it. I’m glad I had the opportunity to play and start on the varsity. It was a lot of fun. And now Brooks is getting to enjoy the same thing.”
Brady said he typically watches Brooks’ games on the Internet and then talks to him about what he saw.
“He’ll ask me questions and my opinion, but for the most part he’s out there doing it on his own,” Brady said. “He’s gone through the system, so he knows what Coach Allen wants and expects. He knows what to do out there.”
Even though Brady and Blake have yet to see Brooks play a varsity game in person, they both watch the games online a day or so after the games are played. And Brooks has plenty of support in the stands with his parents and three grandparents there cheering him on every week.
“Right now, it’s fun just watching him and supporting him,” Brady said. “The cool thing about it is we all did it with the same head coach. We were all pretty much running the same offense. It’s fun to talk about running certain plays and each person knows exactly what you’re talking about.”
