| No. 15, 82, 89 | |||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1965-02-22)February 22, 1965 (age 60) Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lexington (KY) Bryan Station | ||||||||
| College | Kentucky | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Cornell Rodney Burbage (born February 22, 1965) is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys. He also was a member of theNew York/New Jersey Knights of theWorld League of American Football (WLAF). He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Kentucky.
Burbage attendedBryan Station High School, where he was a teammate ofDermontti Dawson andMarc Logan. He didn't have great stats atwide receiver because he played in a heavily run-oriented system. As a senior, he received All-state honors in football andtrack.
He accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Kentucky, but had few opportunities to prove his true worth in the Wildcats run-oriented offense. As a junior, he tallied 25 receptions (second on the team) for 418 yards (led the team). Including 7 receptions for 131 yards againstMississippi State University.
In his last year in 1986, he led the team in receiving with only 24 receptions for 331 yards. He ranked third in the SEC in kickoff returns with a 23.1-yard averageand fifth in punt returns with 6.7-yard average. He finished his college career with 64 receptions for 988 yards and notouchdowns.
Burbage was signed as anundrafted free agent by theDallas Cowboys after the1987 NFL draft. He was waived on September 7.[1]
After the players went on a strike on the third week of the1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and theNFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Burbage was signed to be a part of theDallas Cowboys replacement team, that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media.[2] He had 3 receptions for 110 yards, including a 77-yardtouchdown against thePhiladelphia Eagles. He was cut on October 26, after the strike ended.[3][4]
In1988, he was signed during the offseason and was cut on August 29.[5] Burbage was re-signed on October 12 to provide depth after the team suffered many injuries on thewide receiver corps.[6] He finished the year ranked second in kickoff-return average (22.4 yards) in theNational Football Conference.[7]
On September 19,1989, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a shoulder injury.[8]
Burbage signed with theMinnesota Vikings as aPlan B free agent in1990. He was released on August 28.[9]
Burbage signed with theNew York/New Jersey Knights of theWorld League of American Football in1991, they were coached byMouse Davis, the architect of theRun and shoot offense. He led the league in kickoff-return average and also registered a World League-record return of 101 yards in1992.[10]
On July 10,1991, he was signed as afree agent by thePittsburgh Steelers.[11] He was cut on August 26.[12]
Burbage signed with theHamilton Tiger-Cats of theCanadian Football League in1993. He was waived on July 4.[13]
In1995, he was signed as afree agent by theMemphis Mad Dogs of theCanadian Football League.[14] He was released before the start of the season.
After his playing career was over, Burbage was a coach atPaul Laurence Dunbar High School, where he helped turn the team into a state runner-up in 1997. The next year, he left to coach at his alma mater,Bryan Station High School.
Burbage served three years as theoffensive coordinator, before taking over as the 27th head football coach atKentucky State University on an interim basis for the 2004 season.[15] His record at Kentucky State was 7–4.[16]
In 2006, he was named the head coach atWest Jessamine High School. Cornell is currently an assistant coach at his former high school, Bryan Station High School, in Lexington.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky State Thorobreds(Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(2004) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Kentucky State | 7–4 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| Kentucky State: | 7–4 | 5–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 7–4 | ||||||||