Jan. 16, 2009
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ORLANDO, Fla. - Joe Burnett will represent UCF football in the third annual Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Challenge. The game will be held on Saturday, January 31 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. CBS College Sports will broadcast the game live.
Burnett will become the second Knight to participate in the contest when he participates for Team Nation under head coach Howard Schnellenberger. Last year's game featured former UCF defensive tackle Leger Douzable who had one TFL for Team Nation. His experience in El Paso helped earn Douzable a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings.
Burnett was named as an All-American by ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated and the Walter Camp Football Foundation after a record-setting senior year for the Knights.
In 2008, Burnett was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 20 of both kickoff and punt returns, ranking seventh in kickoff returns and 10th in punt returns. He led C-USA in both disciplines. With 102.17 yards per game to place 88th, Burnett became just the third player since 2000 to finish the season ranked in the top 100 nationally in all-purpose yardage despite not gaining any of those yards either rushing or receiving. This past fall, Burnett, in his first season as a kickoff returner, ran two back for touchdowns, coming against in-state foes USF and Miami, both of which were ranked at various points in 2008.
Burnett completed his extraordinary UCF career as the school's record holder in numerous major categories including career interceptions (16) and punt return yards (1,304). Burnett is the Conference USA career record holder for most punt return yards and ranks 19th in NCAA history in that category. He stands second in C-USA annals with his 16 career interceptions. He scored a total of five career special teams touchdowns including a UCF-record three on punt returns.
Following the season, Burnett was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year and was also named first-team All-C-USA as a defensive back, punt returner and kick returner, marking the first time that a player has been named to the first team at three different positions.
In addition to his stellar performances on the field as a Knight, Burnett received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in December.