2022: Played against Northern Colorado (11/19/22), completing two of his four pass attempts, including a long of 22 yards.
2021: Was a non-lettering squad member and did not play in any games.
2020-21: Was a non-lettering squad member and did not play in any games.
2019: Was a non-lettering squad member and did not play in any games.
2018: Redshirted.
HS: Graduated from Meridian HS in 2018. Burkett concluded his prep career by completing 4-of-10 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown in the 24th annual Earl Barden Classic East-West All-State Game. His West squad fell 20-12, but he had a 25-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to give his team a 12-0 lead. He was named by the
Seattle Times as a “White Chip” selection as one of the top 100 prospects in the state of Washington. He was rated by 247sports.com as a 3-star recruit and the No. 27 prospect in the state of Washington. Rivals.com rated him as a 2-star recruit. Burkett committed to Eastern in August of 2017 before finishing his high school career with 7,658 yards and 79 touchdowns passing, and 1,564 yards and 29 touchdowns rushing in 34 games played. He completed 56.9 percent of his passes (527-of-927) with 30 interceptions, and also caught four passes for 38 yards. His yardage total in his career was a league record. He served as a team captain as a senior, junior and sophomore. As a senior, he was selected as the state of Washington Class 1A MVP and a first team All-State selection as a quarterback by the
Associated Press. Burkett was the MVP of the 1A Northwest Conference. He passed for 3,868 yards (276.3 per game) and 45 TDs passing and had a team-high 623 yards and 12 scores on the ground. He completed 58.0 percent of his passes (235-of-405), breaking his own Whatcom County record for attempts and completions. He led Meridian to a 13-1 record overall, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the 1A Northwest Conference. The Trojans lost 33-27 in the State 1A championship game in the Tacoma Dome to top-ranked Royal, which won its third-straight title. Burkett’s 10-yard touchdown run with 11:22 remaining tied the game at 27-27, but Royal had two sacks of Burkett in the final seven minutes. Burkett passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns, and added two more scores on the ground. At the Northwest 9 quarterback camp in Kirkland, Wash., in summer of 2017, Burkett had the third-best vertical jump mark (38-5), the fourth-best broad jump (9-1) and tied for fifth-best in the 3-cone shuttle (4.25 seconds). As a junior team captain, he shared first team All-Northwest Conference 1A honors along with Montana State commit Casey Bauman from Nooksack Valley. Burkett led Meridian to a 7-7 record as the Trojans clinched a .500 season by winning a pair of games in the State 1A Playoffs. Meridian beat Kings 17-14 and Cascade Christian 34-21 before falling to Connell 56-21 in the quarterfinals. Burkett attempted a Whatcom County record 367 passes, completing 208 of them for a 56.7 percent completion rate. He finished with 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air, and had another 618 yards and 12 scores on the ground. As a defensive back, he finished the season with three interceptions and returned one for a TD. He played in eight games as a sophomore team captain and completed 84-of-155 passes (54.2 percent) for 1,167 yards and 14 touchdowns, as well as 323 rushing yards with five TDs. He also had an interception on defense. The Trojans advanced to the State 1A Playoffs and finished 6-5. He played for long-time Meridian coach Bob Ames, whose 332 career wins in 46 seasons (retired after 2019 season) trails former Tumwater coach Sid Otton (394) and O’Dea’s Monte Kohler (347 through 2019) for most wins in state history. Eastern All-Big Sky center Spencer Blackburn also played for Ames at Meridian and graduated in 2014.
Personal: Interdisciplinary studies major at EWU with a focus on physical education, personal training and communication studies. Born 9/18/99 in Bellingham, Wash. Parents are Rob and Heidi Burkett. His grandfather, Mike Hopley, lettered for Eastern in basketball in 1972 and was formerly from Burlington, Wash.
| Year |
GP |
C-A |
Pct. |
Int-TD |
Yds |
Hi |
Apg |
Eff. |
| 2022 |
1 |
2-4 |
50.0 |
1-0 |
20 |
20 |
20.0 |
42.0 |
| Year |
GP |
Car |
Yds |
Hi |
Apc |
Apg |
TD |
Lg |
| 2022 |
1 |
1 |
-9 |
-9 |
-9.0 |
-4.5 |
0 |
0 |
| Year |
GP |
Rush |
Pass |
Total |
Apg |
Plays |
App |
| 2022 |
1 |
-9 |
20 |
11 |
11.0 |
5 |
2.2 |
