Long Valley's Burton Set for New Season at Rutgers

Rutgers needs Michael Burton more than it knows. So when he practices this spring and says he’s 100-percent healthy, it means something substantial.

Burton, one of the most prolific running backs in West Morris Central Wolfpack’s storied history, only played in four games for Rutgers University last year before sustaining a broken ankle, which sidelined him for the remainder of 2012.

But he’s back and more ready than ever, according to a report on nj.com.

The fullback is a fourth-year junior who spent the offseason rehabbing his ankle and hitting the weight room hard, the report said, and is now a barreling 6-feet, 238 pounds of Scarlet Knight power.

Statistics showed Burton’s importance, as half of the team’s total 2012 rushing touchdowns came in games Burton was playing. They scored none in the final four games of the season, the report said.

Burton led the Wolfpack to a North II, Group III football championship during his senior season in 2009. That was the same year he was named the Daily Record’s player of the year, and a member of the Star Ledger’s All Group III First Team Defense and First Team Offense. He was also named to the Star Ledger’s All-State First Team Offense in 2009.

The Wolfpack’s all-time record holders list is littered with Burton appearances, including the team’s single-season rushing mark, which he set in 2009 with 1,767 yards, and the second and third most touchdowns in a single game with 5–once in 2008, and another in 2009.