Cornell Rodney Burbage (born February 22, 1965) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He also was a member of the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

Early years

Burbage attended

Bryan Station High School Bryan Station High School, founded in 1958, is a high school within the Fayette County Public Schools system in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. During the 2006–2007 school year, students were moved to their newly built school known as Brya ...

, where he was a teammate of Dermontti Dawson and Marc Logan. He didn't have great stats at wide receiver because he played in a heavily run-oriented system. As a senior, he received All-state honors in football and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

, but had few opportunities to prove his true worth in the Wildcats run-oriented offense. As a junior, he tallied 25 receptions (second on the team) for 418 yards (led the team). Including 7 receptions for 131 yards against

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. In his last year in 1986, he led the team in receiving with only 24 receptions for 331 yards. He ranked third in the SEC in kickoff returns with a 23.1-yard average and fifth in punt returns with 6.7-yard average. He finished his college career with 64 receptions for 988 yards and no

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Burbage was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

. He was waived on September 7. After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Burbage was signed to be a part of the

replacement team, that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media. He had 3 receptions for 110 yards, including a 77-yard

against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He was cut on October 26, after the strike ended. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, he was signed during the offseason and was cut on August 29. Burbage was re-signed on October 12 to provide depth after the team suffered many injuries on the wide receiver corps. He finished the year ranked second in kickoff-return average (22.4 yards) in the

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...

. On September 19,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a shoulder injury.

Minnesota Vikings

Burbage signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

as a Plan B free agent in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. He was released on August 28.

New York/New Jersey Knights (WLAF)

Burbage signed with the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, they were coached by Mouse Davis, the architect of the Run and shoot offense. He led the league in kickoff-return average and also registered a World League-record return of 101 yards in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

On July 10,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was cut on August 26.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL)

Burbage signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. He was waived on July 4.

Memphis Mad Dogs (CFL)

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he was signed as a

by the Memphis Mad Dogs of the

. He was released before the start of the season.

Coaching career

After his playing career was over, Burbage was a coach at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, where he helped turn the team into a state runner-up in 1997. The next year, he left to coach at his alma mater,

. Burbage served three years as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

, before taking over as the 27th head football coach at

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons ...

on an interim basis for the 2004 season. His record at Kentucky State was 7–4.Kentucky State University coaching records
In 2006, he was named the head coach at West Jessamine High School. Cornell is currently an assistant coach at his former high school, Bryan Station High School, in Lexington.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burbage, Cornell 1965 births Living people American football wide receivers Dallas Cowboys players Kentucky State Thorobreds football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football players National Football League replacement players New York/New Jersey Knights players High school football coaches in Kentucky Coaches of American football from Kentucky Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople