Warren’s Cory Burton had a choice to make in September 2023.
Burton had been taken out of the starting lineup at cornerback, and almost his entire junior season was still ahead.
“They wanted to see more from me, so I felt it was valid,” he said. “I could have been more competitive when the ball was in the air, and I could have been tougher taking on blockers.”
Instead of sulking, however, Burton looked inward to see what precipitated the change and vowed to put in the work.
“I started going a lot harder in practice to get the spot back,” he said.
Burton played solely on special teams until he got snaps on defense again during the Blue Devils’ win against South Elgin in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs. He completed his climb back to the starting lineup the following week, when Warren lost to Lincoln-Way East in the quarterfinals.
Although the playoff run ended, Burton felt good about what he had personally accomplished.
“I liked the way I responded and stepped up when I got back,” he said.
So Burton went into the offseason on a positive trajectory, which has continued into October 2024. Starting at safety this season, Burton has become the most consistent defender for the Blue Devils (4-2, 3-1) as their North Suburban Conference game against Stevenson on Thursday approaches, according to coach Bryan McNulty.
“He committed himself in the offseason to everything he wanted,” McNulty said. “We laid out what he needed to do, and he met every single benchmark and then some. He’s kind of become the heart of the defense in the back end.”
Burton participated in virtually every offseason workout, reestablishing his presence within the program while adding enough muscle to give him an idea. He thought he might be able to provide more to the team by moving to safety after classmate Justice Humphreys left a spot open by shifting to linebacker. So Burton approached defensive coordinator Justin Van Schaick in the spring to discuss a move.
“I needed to learn what my keys are, to know what to look for and where I fit in to stop the run,” Burton said. “I was up to 185 pounds, and I thought I was still fast enough, so I wanted to give it a shot.”
Burton’s growth in the past year doesn’t surprise his older brother Cray, a 2019 Warren graduate who played cornerback on the team that reached the 2018 quarterfinals. Cray Burton noted that Cory is the youngest of three brothers. The oldest, Craig, played basketball at Warren and graduated in 2010.
“Whenever he’s ever faced adversity, he’s put his head down and never backed down,” Cray Burton said of Cory. “He’s competitive by nature, and you can see him using that on the field.”
Cory Burton said he also feels more involved at safety. Rather than being left on an island or assigned to deep quadrants of the field, like he was at cornerback, Burton is getting plenty of opportunities to throw his body around, whether he is stationed near the line of scrimmage at the snap or crashes down in run support.
“My favorite part of safety is being involved in both the run and the pass,” he said. “I definitely enjoy being in the box, and if the No. 2 receiver runs a route underneath the linebackers, I lean zone. And if I’m back further in coverage, I see the field better. It’s been a great fit “
Burton showed his ball-hawking ability during Warren’s 34-20 conference win at Mundelein last week, when he rushed forward quickly enough to pounce on a fumble. Although the Blue Devils didn’t capitalize with a score, Burton’s takeaway stopped a Mundelein drive that had advanced inside their 35-yard line.
“My job on that play was the middle third, so I went into my backpedal,” he said. “Once I saw it was a run, I stepped on the pedal to get up there and saw the ball loose. I just dove on it.”
It’s a play that Humphreys can visualize, owing to his experience at the same position. But Humphreys also admires how much Burton is making of his senior season from a personal standpoint.
“I had some harder times earlier in my high school career, and I definitely had to work hard to get through them,” Humphreys said. “It would have been nice to have guys like Cory, who are role models for younger guys in the program.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
