Justin Burke will be a Wildcat after all.
When Will Stein was initially hired as Kentucky Football’s next head coach, Justin Burke was one of the first ‘reported’ hires for the new coaching staff. Burke was said to be Kentucky’s new offensive coordinator, but that role ended up going to LSU’s Joe Sloan.
Since then, there’s been virtually nothing on Burke, leaving us to wonder if he was still planning to join UK’s staff.
The Herald-Leader has confirmed that UTSA offensive coordinator Justin Burke, a former star quarterback at Lexington Catholic who played college football at N.C. State and Louisville, will be on the staff but not as one of the 10 recruiting assistants. An NCAA rule change prior to the 2024 season allowed analysts and other coaches outside the primary 11-man staff to provide on-field coaching in practices and games, but schools are limited to 11 coaches, including the head coach, who can participate in off-campus recruiting trips.
That would suggest Burke is coming on as an offensive analyst. While it may not be a coordinator or position coach role, Burke is someone who could still make a significant impact on Kentucky’s offense in Year 1 of the Will Stein era.
A Lexington (KY) native, Burke played for nearby Lexington Catholic High School, then began his college football career as a quarterback at NC State from 2006-07 before transferring to Louisville, where he spent the next three seasons (2008-10). Stein was a quarterback at Louisville from 2008-12, so they were teammates for several seasons.
After his playing career ended, Burke became a graduate assistant with the Cards, had several stints as an offensive quality control coach, then became a special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at South Florida, a role he served in through the 2019 season. Perhaps he’ll be helping the Wildcats’ special teams since they have yet to hire a coordinator there.
Following his stint with the Bulls, Burke became an offensive assistant at UTSA in 2020. He coached alongside Stein, who was there from 2020-22 and was the offensive coordinator in 2023.
Burke was promoted to special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2022, then became the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach in 2023 following Stein’s departure.
From 2024-25, Burke was the Roadrunners’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. This season, his offense ranks 23rd in scoring offense, 44th in total offense, 37th in yards per play, is tied for fifth in plays of 40+ yards (22), and is tied with Old Dominion in plays of 70+ yards (seven).
Will be interesting to see what Burke’s official role is once the hire is announced by UK.
Category: General Sports
