Burton bolsters 2010 football recruiting class

Trey Burton has a bright future in football ahead of him.

But at Friday Night Lights last week, the Florida commitment also showed his skills as a salesman.

The dual-threat quarterback spent the majority of his time at the one-night camp with top recruit Mack Brown.

By the end of the evening, Brown, who is a running back from Lithonia, Ga., gave his verbal commitment to the Gators.

Burton was instrumental in convincing Brown, listed as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, to become his future teammate.

“Yeah, I was with Mack the whole time. I stayed with him the whole time, we had a good time, we did whatever he wanted to do,” Burton said.

“(FNL) went real good, I really didn’t do anything. I just went around and talked to a couple of kids that we wanted to commit.”

Burton said he was also working on Pahokee receiver Chris Dunkley, Moreno Valley Calif., Rancho Verde defensive end Ronald Powell and Tampa Catholic offensive lineman Chaz Green.

Burton said the talks with Dunkley, Powell and Green went well.

“We’ll see,” said Burton, who is listed as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.

None of those prospects committed that night, but if Burton’s success with Brown is any indication of how well he can pitch the Gators’ product, more commitments could be coming in the near future. Florida now has 17 verbal commitments for the 2010 class. Verbal commitments are non-binding. National Signing Day is in February.

The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Burton threw for 1,699 yards and 19 touchdowns and ran for 1,173 yards and 28 touchdowns in leading Venice to an 11-1 record last fall. The Indians have won two straight district titles and advanced to the Class 5A regional semifinals last year.

“I want to win a national championship. I’ll do whatever it takes,” Burton said. “I have a lot of fun (being a salesman), I want to win.”

Florida fans can also get an early look at Burton as Venice travels to Virginia to play Oscar Smith on Aug. 28 in a game scheduled to be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m.

There is also no doubt that Burton is eager to become a Gator.

“I’ve got a calendar in my room and I’m marking the days off,” Burton said. “Five, five-and-a-half months.”