NOT AFRAID OF A CHALLENGE
Jonah Burton's path to Duke football took hard work
Stanford Cardinal cornerback Jay Green (5) breaks up the pass attempt to Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Jonah Burton (6) during the second half at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham on Sept. 19.
Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Jonah Burton (6) runs the ball past Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Xavier Scott (1) and defensive back Tywan Cox (32) during the second half at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, on Sept. 12.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Jonah Burton was no more than 6 years old when his taekwondo master called him out of the group.
His three older siblings had just gone through the skills test. Now it was his turn.
The youngest — and smallest — in the group, Burton stood beneath a board held high above his head.
"I always told them, do not treat him like his age, treat him like the rest of the kids," Jonah's father, John Burton, told The Fayetteville Observer.
So, the master didn't lower the board. Jonah broke it anyway.
The room erupted in cheers. "He couldn't have been but six, but he could climb the air," his mother, Corinna Burton, said.
It was the kind of challenge Burton had been getting his entire life. His parents never treated him like the youngest of their four children. And Burton never acted like he was.
"Watching his older siblings, if they can do it, he can do it too," Corinna said. "You couldn't tell him he couldn't do it."
Finding his way to football
After getting his black belt at 7, Burton's turn to try organized sports came when he reached middle school.
He wasn't a stranger to being around them, though. His father was a longtime football coach, and he grew up watching his older siblings.
"Jonah got to bear the experience of watching his older siblings work out, being a part of their drills," Corinna said. "He always had that, 'I want to do this.'"
His first choice was soccer, where he insisted on being goalie.
Corinna remembers warning him: "You know the ball is coming right at your face?"
He ended up being one of the few on his team that wasn't afraid of the ball.
A year later, he tried flag football. And by the time he put on pads for the first time in eighth grade, his coaches weren't quite sure where to put him. His body type was built more toward running back, where coaches gravitated to put him, but he wanted to play wide receiver.
One game in eighth grade, Burton played nine — or as John recalled maybe 10 — positions from quarterback to linebacker to center to even handling long snapping duties. By the end of the game, he was awarded the game ball.
"He did everything that they needed that day," John said. "Unbelievable, but that's him. Nothing surprises me."
Football came naturally to Burton. He knew the fundamentals thanks to his father's coaching background; now they worked on the rest.
Twice a week, Burton joined his dad and brother for 5:30 a.m. workouts before school. They ran sleds, worked on speed and caught passes.
He ran track, too, continuing to develop his speed and mechanics.
"A lot of the catches he does over his head, he's been doing since he was a baby," John said. "It's kind of second nature to him."
Finding his opportunity
John remembers one game in particular.
Burton, in his sophomore year at Chaminade Prep, made a near one-handed grab for a first down in a varsity game against St. John Bosco, one year removed from splitting time between the freshman and junior varsity teams.
"It was just like an aha moment for everybody," John said. "... I think that gave him more confidence to keep moving forward. He was confident but I think he realized I can play with the best."
Burton transferred to Simi Valley the next year to finish out his high school career. His acrobatic catches continued.
"When he practiced he had a unique ability to snag the ball out of the air with one hand," coach Jim Benkert said. "... He never gave up on a ball. I would think that he couldn't get to it, and when he did get to it, there were times he made these unbelievable one-handed catches." The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to his recruitment, but Burton found a spot at Baylor as a walk-on.
He graduated a semester early after making three starts across 11 games for the Bears, then transferred to Idaho State for the 2025 season.
A year later, he arrived at Duke. Two weeks into the season, Burton scored his first collegiate touchdown in the Blue Devils' win over Illinois.
The board hasn't moved. "When I got the opportunity to Duke, I was just remembering all my chips," he said. "Coach Brewer had meetings and asked us what our chips were, and that was mine. Just the lack of opportunity and what really drives me to push."
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
