It wasn't easy to hear as a sophomore two years ago, but Tyler Burke now knows it to be true.
Experience matters in the game of football.
Burke, a senior cornerback for the Siloam Springs football team, is in his third year starting in the secondary for the Panthers (1-1), who play at 7 p.m. on Friday at Claremore, Okla.
Burke and his senior classmate, Parker Baldwin, were thrown into the fire as sophomores in 2012, starting in the secondary as Siloam Springs competed as the only Class 6A school in the toughest conference in the state -- the 7A/6A-West.
Last season, Burke and the Panthers once again went through the gauntlet of the 7A/6A-West, discovering along the way that they were much improved from the previous year.
Now a senior, and a seasoned veteran, Burke said he understands what was explained to him two years ago when he first took the field for Siloam Springs.
"The coaches are always right when they say a lot of this game is experience," Burke said. "When I go back and look at my sophomore year to now, the experience, you know what to expect, how the game is played, the speed -- I see it a lot better now that I'm older and have been through it two years in a row. Experience really, really does help. The coaches were definitely right about that."
Not that Burke wasn't productive in his sophomore or junior seasons playing safety for the Panthers.
As a sophomore, he had 28 tackles, 41 assisted tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one sack and three pass breakups. Last season, as a junior, he collected 41 tackles, 25 assisted tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, one sack and five pass breakups.
For several different reasons, Burke was moved to cornerback in the offseason. One reason was to protect a bad right shoulder, which has given Burke trouble over the last several months. Another reason was the Panthers wanted to get more physical at the line of scrimmage in new defensive coordinator Marc Jones' defensive scheme.
"He's a little more physical on the edge," said Siloam Springs head coach Bryan Ross. "When you play some Cover 2, you want a physical corner that can re-route receivers and really shut the edge down. Most of the time in our defensive scheme, we want a physical kid out there at corner that can narrow the field down and keep everything inside."
Burke certainly has the size to play physical. At 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, he's put on more than 30 pounds of muscle since his playing weight as a sophomore.
Burke has also matured over the last two years, Ross said, but is still feisty on the football field.
"He's scrappy," Ross said. "He's going to compete. He's a pretty hard-nosed football player. That's what you want. That's part of his makeup. I think that's one thing that has helped him be a three-year starter."
"Hard work pays off," Burke said. "I've worked hard every single year to be where I am now."
Two games into the 2014 season, Burke has collected three tackles, eight assisted tackles and one tackle for loss.
In the Panthers' 47-35 win against Harrison last week, Burke had one solo tackle and five assisted tackles.
"He made two or three open field tackles, where he grabbed people by the shoestrings or they would have gone a long way," Jones said. "He fought through some blocks to get those tackles."
Jones said Burke has bought in 100 percent to the Panthers' defense and has shown good leadership.
"He's done a great job," Jones said. "He's definitely one of our leaders. He's bought in to everything we're doing. He helps me tremendously when we do JVs and when defensive backs come over for drills. He'll stay there with them and he'll work them, and they've got all the respect in the world for him."
Providing good leadership is something Burke takes personally. His little brother, Montana, is a sophomore linebacker/wide receiver on team, who Tyler said has a bright future with the Panthers.
"I want him to be better than me," Burke said. "That's for sure.
More than that, Burke said he's got the big picture of the Siloam Springs football program in mind.
"Leadership is a big deal," he said. "It's not just right now. It's also for the future. I just want to be a good role model and show the younger guys what it takes to succeed."
Sports on 09/17/2014