He was able to focus and achieve his primary goals that included earning a master's degree, making All-American and being drafted by an NFL team. The movie really addressed the question of why bad things happen to good people, Hansen said. While Ratliffs NFL future was never a realistic option because of his myriad injuries, Burlsworth had an incredibly bright future ahead of him. That defined the Tennessee offense that year, Cutcliffe said. #biGTime #TogetherWeSwarm https://t.co/Ak89larnux, Following a resignation for personal misconduct and an NCAA show-cause penalty, he finds a home at the conservative Christian school in Virginia. "I took the player's helmet and put it on," said Tice. Fifteen years. So sad, so much promise, such a terrific person. We always beat those guys. **CLICK HERE FOR FOOTAGE OF BRANDON BURLSWORTH IN 1999 ROOKIE CAMP**. The fundraising event will take place on Thursday, Sept. 28 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Hewalked on at Arkansas in 1994 after having zero FBS scholarship offers and eventually became team captain and a two-time All-SEC pick. Coleman recalled seeing Ratliff, who was over 300 pounds, dunk a basketball with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. There was no overlooking those two foes like the Vols might have done against Arkansas. The football fraternity had great expectations from the talented young man but fate had other plans and he was killed in an accident. While the pain of losing Brandon always will be with her and the Burlsworth family, Barbara said she's also come to recognize a larger and mysterious divine plan in all that Brandon's indomitable spirit achieved during his brief lifetime. During their time of struggle, they came up with the idea for the foundation. Do it the Burls way: Have character. All Martin had to do was hand the ball off to running back Travis Henry. Burlsworth was killed 15 miles from home on a road he had traveled for years when his car drifted into the on-coming lane, the write-up continued. Two collisions followed and the life of a wonderful human with vast. The 22-year-old Burlsworth, who had been drafted by the Colts 11 days earlier in the wake of gaining first-group All-America respects as a fifth-year senior, was involved with a head-on crash with a tractor-trailer around 15 miles outside Harrison and was killed. The struggles that he had gone through to get where he was were over. Honors College announces new faculty fellow. Tennessee is only one of a handful of SEC football states with legalized sports betting. "I still believe he'd have had become one of the better guards in the NFL," said Mudd. Brandon Burlsworth (as Chris Severio) Michael Parks Leo Burlsworth Nick Searcy The Farmer Peter Gray Lewis Coach Tice (as Peter Lewis) Fredric Lehne Coach Bender Texas Battle Anthony Lucas M.C. ( Marty Burlsworth ) From left to right, Brandon Burlsworth, Grant Garrett and Russ Brown pose for a picture in 1997. Its very possible the two would have had many more epic battles in the NFL. Powered by ThinkWeb, THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION'S STUDENT MEDIA NETWORK AT HARDING UNIVERSITY, Faith, Trust and Character: The Life and Legacy of Brandon Burlsworth, Three players lead softball team to terrific start, Track construction nearly complete, ready to host, 22 teams compete in annual pickle ball tournament, Womens and mens tennis teams push through season, Bison baseball kicks off season with five straight wins, Harding softball begins season in Louisiana, Ambassador discusses efforts against human trafficking. Its namesake was an Arkansas offensive lineman from 1995 to 1998. This is incredible. . Playing on the offensive line is not a "glamour" position, but he was still one of the most popular players on the team. After his time at the University of Arkansas ended, Brandon Burlsworth seemed poised to realize his NFL dreams. Safety Fred White didnt see it that way. (NWA Media). ESPN College GameDay 8-31-19 #WeTrust pic.twitter.com/x3UCtOjLLf, Burlsworth Trophy (@BurlsworthTrust) August 29, 2019. After walking on, Burlsworth became an All-American and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts to help protect Peyton Manning. After college he became a third-round pick of the Colts. Instead, the accident happened four days later, tearing holes in the hearts of everyone who knew Brandon. Cast [ edit] Wed, 09/08/2021 - 15:05. Burlsworth was killed 15 miles from home on a road he had traveled for years when his car drifted into the on-coming lane. Two collisions followed, and the life of a wonderful human with vast talents was over. Certainly, football was immensely important to Brandon, but it was his character and the relationship he had with God that defined who Brandon Burlsworth really was. The Burlsworth Trophy has been awarded every year since 2010. When its your time, its your time. In the world of sports, there are plenty of iconic underdog stories. His heart weighed a good part of that. Foreign Language Department brings back after-school Harding employees bring families to swim Searcy Police and Public Safety investigate Reframing chapel: administration introduces changes, Student Association celebrates Earth Week. Accident investigators indicated that Burlsworth was trailing another semi-truck rig on the winding, two-lane highway toward Harrison when he veered left just slightly to check oncoming. Weve got to throw it. I said No, were going to run it every down and we ran the football right down their throat.. On the line, Tarik Glenn and Adam Meadows were at tackles. Steve McKinney was one guard. Jeff Saturday was a street free agent, and Burlsworth could have helped the guard position for years. Facebook gives people the power. HARRISON For one more Saturday, Brandon Burlsworth was with his Arkansas football teammates and coaches and surrounded by family and friends. Before he ever hit the gridiron, though, the lineman tragically died in an offseason accident. Brandon Burlsworth death scene What was Brandon Burlsworth's death scene like? Eleven days after being drafted, Brandon is killed when he is hit head-on by a tractor trailer. Although Brandon became a stickler for staying focused and doing things the right way, he also was a typically sloppy teenager until the 10th grade when Barbara told him if he was serious about going to college, "he'd better get his act together." The Harrison, Arkansas, native walked on and became a three-year starter, All-American and NFL Draft pick. As the mind flashes back 15 years ago, the accident remains just as tragic. The life of a tremendous human being was ended. That is an incalculable loss. Brandon was a walk on turned All American at the University of Arkansas. At the end of summer, he weighed 311 pounds, yet the draft hopeful could dunk a basketball with both hands from a standing start. Dave Hooker started covering Tennessee in 1998. Burlsworth never got to join the Colts, though. He died in a car crash on april 28 1999 shortly after he was drafted by the nfls indianapolis colts. After an exhaustive, deliberate process, Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard were in agreement: Shane Steichen was the top candidate for the team's head coaching position. The temperature was a balmy 77 degrees. MB: We want them to know that bad things can and will happen. "Then I turned around and the next player I faced was Brandon. In fact, Ed, who works for FedEx in Harrison and has three children, even named his oldest son after Brandon. Throughout his football career, Brandon Burlsworth never let adversity stop him from achieving his goals. Unfortunately, Brandon was tragically killed in a head-on automobile collision just 11 days after the draft." Do it the right way when no one else is looking. Brandon Burlsworth rose from a walk-on to a legitimate player at Arkansas Eleven days after being drafted burlsworth was killed in a car accident near alpena arkansas on april 28 1999 on his way back to his hometown of harrison after a workout in fayetteville. Cutcliffe decided to do just that. https://t.co/0d1lDS8ST3, Chris Jones (@EnswellJones) August 29, 2019, Tragic what happened to him. He was already something special, but it would have been something else had he not gone through the injuries he did.. I think about it all the time. As recorded on the Colts official website, Burlsworth was driving home to Harrison, Arkansas in April 1999; he wanted to head home, have dinner with his mother, Barbara, and attend a Wednesday night church service. The lineman, however, would never arrive. "The common . Ratliff pounced on the ball. He joined the team as a walk-on and eventually became an All-American . They added that they hope the movie raises awareness for what they are trying to do with their foundation and helps make the Burlsworth name synonymous with strong character. Greater misses key fact. With the tragic way he died, how did you make sense of it all? Former Arkansas football player and Indianapolis Colts third-round draft pick Brandon Burlsworth died Wednesday in a car crash near Carrolton, Ark., while travelling to his home, state police said . Brandon was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the UA Letterman's Association Hall of Honor in 2004. Philip Straub said the call came in at 4:17 p.m. that there was a crash involving a car and a tractor-trailer on U.S. 412 near Carrolton. He went after it without caution.". | GREATER Movie LOS ANGELES (Christian Examiner) - GREATER, a new film about the inspiring story of Christian football player Brandon Burlsworth, who shot from walk-on at the University of Arkansas to a NFL draftee, will hit theaters this summer. It was all inner-him -- all inner-drive. Were going to get the ball back.. Marty and Vickie Burlsworth said they thought Greater was a fantastic rendering of what was important to Brandon. The story of a small town walk-on freshman named Brandon Burlsworth transforming into a first team All-American has been inspiring to football fans of all ages, but there is much more to his legacy than most people know. Q: When did you realize Brandons story was going to be something that could resonate with people far beyond just Razorback fans? During his junior and senior years, his work ethic and focus really kicked in. He was in the prime of his football career. Why did he have to die when he had everything to live for? The Arkansas win did more than preserve the Vols perfect record. Tice also told of a time when he'd become agitated with another lineman during practice and told the team to watch. I think about that all the time.. It was a crazy play. It was apparently a shocker to a few of the reviewers here, but Greater includes some Christian themes in it. Rivers and Steichen worked together with the Chargers, while Turner gave Steichen his first opportunity in the NFL. Draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. His truck then collided with another tractor-trailer. Hollywood keeps making movies about superheroes and people who arent heroes at all, but here is a real life hero that my kids can look up to.. Barbara and Marty came to training camp in advance of the Buffalo opener. [3] I really felt like that game built character in our team because for the first time, we felt the feeling of defeat and that was a feeling we didnt want to have anymore.. He loved the sport, though, and worked his way to all-state honors by the time he graduated.