Top 70 MAC Football Players: #50 Ryan Burbrink (WR- Bowling Green Falcons)

For whatever reason, be it his size, be it some bogus claims of lack of talent on the short and cut All-State receiver out of Maryland, Ryan Burbrink faced the possibility of not playing college football when he headed to a summer football camp at the University of Pittsburgh the summer after his senior year. It was at this camp that the 5'8' 180 lb. wideout caught the attention of BG coaches working the camp. He soon had a preferred walk-on spot with the squad and quickly earned a scholarship. (The Washington Times wrote an interesting feature on his journey here.) In fact, here's another feature for good measure.

Dave Clawson and his coaching staff reaped the benefit of that decision for two years. Dino Babers and staff made an even bigger difference for Burbrink. And now, in this senior year, Burbrink is poised to solidify himself as one of the best in the MAC, that is, if he's even among the best on the team. This squad is LOADED. Especially with Chris Gallon coming back.

The prototypical possession receiver increased his role in the offense in 2014, easily surpassing career highs in yards and receptions with 758 and 64 respectively. He added on three touchdowns, though his yards per catch decreased from 15.9 to 11.8. This can be attributed to his role changing to the more possession-orientated style mentioned before, shorter routes, picking up first downs on quick hitting routes, etc.

In the UMass game in particular, Burbrink solidified himself as a necessity in the offense, hauling in a career-high 11 catches with 132 yards. And in the VMI game, I'm sure some of you recall this electric punt return for a score. So yeah, you could say Burbrink has some skills outside of just making his QB look good. It all culminated in a first team All-MAC selection for Burbrink as a punt-return specialist, but his highest impact came on the offensive side of the ball.

In case you hadn't heard yet, the Falcons have been pegged as the team to "bring MACtion back." Burbrink will be a huge factor among more than a handful of other Falcon receivers in helping to bring the high-octane offense back to weeknight MAC football this fall. Are you ready?