Burton Burns Position: Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Experience: Sixth Year Alma Mater: Nebraska, 1976

Burton Burns is in his sixth season with the Alabama Crimson Tide football program in 2012 as associate head coach and running backs coach. The New Orleans native is regarded as one of the best coaches in college football and was named the Football Scoop Running Backs Coach of the Year following the 2008 season.

Over 15 seasons as a college assistant coach, Burns has regularly produced versatile running backs that have been effective in every phase of the game. His players have proven to be equally effective as pass catchers, as well as in the running game. Few in college football can say they have coached a Heisman Trophy finalist, but Burns can claim a pair dating back to the 2009 season, including the 2009 recipient Mark Ingram and 2011 finalist Trent Richardson.

Burns turned in another masterful coaching job in 2012. As injuries hammered away at the Tide's depth at running back, junior Eddie Lacy and true freshman T.J. Yeldon stepped to the forefront and combined to rush for 2,182 yards and 27 touchdowns. UA ranks 20th nationally in rushing and second in the SEC with an average of 224.6 yards per game.

Under Burns, the 2011 Crimson Tide rushing offense ranked 16th in the nation, and first in the Southeastern Conference, collecting 214.5 yards per game. In addition to being a Heisman Trophy finalist, Richardson won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, ranking fifth in the nation and first in the league with 129.2 yards on the ground per game. He collected 21 rushing touchdowns, setting the school record and tying him for second in SEC history. He equaled the school and SEC record with 24 total touchdowns. Lacy, finished the 2011 season ninth in the SEC with 56.2 rushing yards per game and seven total touchdowns.

In 2010, Alabama's ground game accumulated 2,378 yards to rank 29th in the country. Playing in only 11 games each, Ingram led the way with 875 yards and 13 scores followed by Richardson's 700 yards with six touchdowns. With two scores against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, Ingram set the Alabama career rushing touchdown record at 42. He finished his career fourth on the career rushing yardage list with 3,261 yards in three seasons. Both Ingram and Richardson were explosive in the passing game as well. Richardson was fourth on the 2011 team with 266 yards on 23 catches (4 TDs), while Ingram added 21 catches for 282 yards and a touchdown.

Under Burns' guidance in 2009, Ingram was awarded Alabama's first Heisman Trophy and earned unanimous All-America honors. Ingram set the school's single-season rushing record with 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns while adding 32 receptions for 334 yards and three more scores. Richardson, a true freshman, was the team's second-leading rusher (642 yards, 6 TD) and was a Freshman All-SEC selection.

Roy Upchurch added valuable production in 2009, especially on third downs. Upchurch earned an invite to the prestigious Senior Bowl at the conclusion of the season. In the BCS National Championship Game against Texas, Ingram and Richardson both rushed for 100-plus yards to help lead Alabama to the school's 13th title.

Burns also developed one of the nation's strongest running games in 2008 as Alabama finished third in the SEC and 30th nationally with an average of 184.6 rushing yards per game. Glen Coffee, a first-team All-SEC selection and third-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers, led the way with 1,383 yards on the ground. That single-season total then tied for second in school history and was third in the conference. Ingram was eighth in the SEC in rushing (728 yards), captured Freshman All-SEC honors and set a Tide rookie record with 12 rushing touchdowns.

In his first year at Alabama (2007), Burns helped first-year tailback Terry Grant set school records for rushing yards (891) and touchdowns (8) by a freshman. Grant was a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree and was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team as well as The Sporting News Freshman All-American team (honorable mention).

An assistant coach at Clemson University for eight seasons before coming to Alabama, Burns was a major factor in producing six of the top 10 offenses in Clemson history as running backs coach for the Tigers. Burns tutored star runners such as 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year James Davis, 2006 freshman record-setter C.J. Spiller, Reggie Merriweather, Travis Zachery and Duane Coleman at Clemson, plus former New York Jet Jerald Sowell at Tulane. In 2006, Davis led the Tigers with 1,187 rushing yards on 203 carries and scored 17 touchdowns, while Spiller had 938 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The Tigers averaged 5.7 yards per carry during the 2006 regular season.

Burns spent eight seasons with head coach Tommy Bowden at Clemson, after a four-year stint at Tulane that concluded with a 12-0 season in 1998.

Burns spent nine seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Saint Augustine High School in New Orleans before joining Bowden's staff at Tulane. Burns helped lead Saint Augustine to district titles in 1987, 1992 and 1993, his second stint at the school. His first experience as a coach also was at Saint Augustine, where he served as an assistant from 1977-79 and helped the school win three other district championships on the way to consecutive state titles in 1978-79. Burns also coached at New Orleans' Booker T. Washington High School in 1980 before a five-year stint as an assistant coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge from 1981-85.

As a player, Burns played fullback (1971-75) at the University of Nebraska under head coach Tom Osborne. A member of three Cornhusker teams that won at least nine games, Burns participated in the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Nebraska in 1976. Burns is married to the former Connie Winder. The couple has three daughters, Amber, Christy and Erin, and a son, Damon.

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