I didn't know Leon Burtnett well. I was an intern in the athletics in 1984-86 and was hired full time in Burtnett's final season at Purdue. But there are a few things that standout from my perspective. First, I always viewed Leon as a player's coach--almost to a fault. Yet, when talking to Rock Supan earlier today, Supan said Burtnett was "very tough to play for." Burtnett was the architect of the "Junk Defense" during Supan's junior and senior years and was, according to Supan, quite the task master.
He was also known for recruiting junior college players, many out of LA, bringing the likes of future NFL players Steve Bryant and Mark Brown to West Lafayette. Leon had the gift of persuasion and developing strong relationships with prospects, especially those from rough and tumble homes. Burtnett was a survivor type and that message resonated with recruits. As a head coach, he also convinced the likes of high school stars Rod Woodson, Ray Wallace, and Jeff George to come to West Lafayette. George was the Gatorade National H.S. Player-of-the-Year, when he committed to Purdue in the spring of 1986. Purdue hasn't been able to secure that type of highly ranked talent since.
When he got the head coaching job at Purdue after coach Jim Young stepped down following the 1981 season, Burtnett was just 38 years old. Young had told athletic director George King before the '81 season that this was likely his last season, and Young had Burtnett in mind as his replacement. The tough thing for Burtnett was that he got off to a slow start, losing his first five games as the head man in 1982, and in many ways the die was cast for his program. It is tough to recover when that type of first impression. Yet, Burtnett was the ultimate underdog, and his program recovered in 1984 surprising the Big Ten and becoming the only Purdue team in history to defeat Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan in the same season.
But it wasn't to be sustained. In 1985, despite having quarterback Jim Everett and Woodson, the Boilermakers fell to a 5-6 record. And when George didn't deliver instantly as a freshman in '86, Burtnett was dead to the Boilermaker fanbase and King felt he had to let him go. The announcement of Burtnett's firing came the week of the Michigan game and didn't sit well with George (who later transferred to Illinois) or Woodson. Both were outspoken in the media. I remember watching Burtnett in utter anguish when addressing the media (the type of press conference that would never happen in 2021) as he had a sense of dread that his opportunity to be a Big Ten level head coach was not going to come back his way again. Burtnett would say years later that president Steven C. Beering had broken a promise to Burtnett (and to George) by his role in letting Burtnett go, and it caused a lot of bitterness at the time.
Burtnett was blamed for Purdue fans for his sometimes poor misspeaking (he would pronounce it "Picksburg" or call Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielberg instead of Chris Spielman). All of that would have been forgotten, I suspect, had Burtnett been more successful. Burtnett also had an active social life, something that in 2021 wouldn't have been possible. Some fans couldn't forgive him for that. Had he won more, they would have.
He was also known for recruiting junior college players, many out of LA, bringing the likes of future NFL players Steve Bryant and Mark Brown to West Lafayette. Leon had the gift of persuasion and developing strong relationships with prospects, especially those from rough and tumble homes. Burtnett was a survivor type and that message resonated with recruits. As a head coach, he also convinced the likes of high school stars Rod Woodson, Ray Wallace, and Jeff George to come to West Lafayette. George was the Gatorade National H.S. Player-of-the-Year, when he committed to Purdue in the spring of 1986. Purdue hasn't been able to secure that type of highly ranked talent since.
When he got the head coaching job at Purdue after coach Jim Young stepped down following the 1981 season, Burtnett was just 38 years old. Young had told athletic director George King before the '81 season that this was likely his last season, and Young had Burtnett in mind as his replacement. The tough thing for Burtnett was that he got off to a slow start, losing his first five games as the head man in 1982, and in many ways the die was cast for his program. It is tough to recover when that type of first impression. Yet, Burtnett was the ultimate underdog, and his program recovered in 1984 surprising the Big Ten and becoming the only Purdue team in history to defeat Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan in the same season.
But it wasn't to be sustained. In 1985, despite having quarterback Jim Everett and Woodson, the Boilermakers fell to a 5-6 record. And when George didn't deliver instantly as a freshman in '86, Burtnett was dead to the Boilermaker fanbase and King felt he had to let him go. The announcement of Burtnett's firing came the week of the Michigan game and didn't sit well with George (who later transferred to Illinois) or Woodson. Both were outspoken in the media. I remember watching Burtnett in utter anguish when addressing the media (the type of press conference that would never happen in 2021) as he had a sense of dread that his opportunity to be a Big Ten level head coach was not going to come back his way again. Burtnett would say years later that president Steven C. Beering had broken a promise to Burtnett (and to George) by his role in letting Burtnett go, and it caused a lot of bitterness at the time.
Burtnett was blamed for Purdue fans for his sometimes poor misspeaking (he would pronounce it "Picksburg" or call Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielberg instead of Chris Spielman). All of that would have been forgotten, I suspect, had Burtnett been more successful. Burtnett also had an active social life, something that in 2021 wouldn't have been possible. Some fans couldn't forgive him for that. Had he won more, they would have.
