Jimmy Burge, the 6-foot-2, 275-pound defensive tackle from Stratford High School in Houston (Texas), finished his junior season with 60 tackles. Burge, a Scout.com three-star recruit who is ranked No. 100 in the Southwest, benches 330 pounds, squats 515 and has a 25-inch vertical jump. He says he runs the forty in 5.1
"I can take on double teams and can stop the run," Burge said. "I can hold the line of scrimmage and have a big body and I'm very physical.
"I want to improve my pass rushing, especially my speed and footwork."
Burge says he has approximately nine scholarship offers and has a very clear favorite. "I haven't committed yet or anything, but I'd say there's an 85 percent chance I will commit to Missouri," Burge admitted.
"I was born in Missouri and even though I only lived there for a year, I always followed them," he said. "My grandparents live there and my dad went to school there (no sports). They've always had season tickets and go to all their games.
"Missouri has great facilities which are brand new," he said. "They also have new dorm rooms and everything there is really nice. I also like coach Gary Pinkel a lot and since he's been there they've been winning. I really think they'll be playing for the Big 12 championship in the next few years."
Burge plans on attending the Tigers camp this summer. He'll also be at the Northwestern and TCU camps. He says that Missouri leads significantly over TCU, Boise State, Stanford and Northwestern. All of them have offered, except Northwestern. He also has offers from Houston and Fresno State.
"I haven't been out to California, but I really like coach Jim Harbaugh and think they'll win a lot under him," Burge said. "The academics at Stanford are well known and are some of the best in the country. I really want to get a good degree and major in engineering. I also want to go where I'll be a big part of the success and not just sit and watch."
Burge says he plans on making his decision within the next month. "I don't plan on taking too long," he said. "I'd like to make a commitment by the end of June or in early July."
He reports a 3.5 core GPA and an 1800 SAT. Burge also got a 27 on the math portion of the ACT. "That score automatically qualifies me for the engineering program at Missouri," Burge said.