Dialleo Burks Sr. (pronounced dee-AH-low) (born July 7, 1974) is a coach and former arena football wide receiver /

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at Warner University. 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 ...

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. Burks has played for 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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

of 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), the Rhein Fire of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, the Orlando Rage of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

, the Georgia Force,

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena. ...

, and the Dallas Desperados of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL).

High school career

Burks attended LaGrange High School. While there he was a wide receiver, and teammate of future NFL cornerback Walt Harris. Burks help LaGrange earn the #1 ranking in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' in 1991.

College career

Burks finished his collegiate career with 94 receptions for 1,430 yards (15.2 avg.) and 12

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 ...

s. As a junior, he led the team with 599 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He was also a member of the schools

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 ...

team, competing in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. As a senior, he helped Eastern Kentucky to a 9-3 regular season record and a spot in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

playoffs.

Professional career

National Football League (1996–2001)

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, Burks signed with the

as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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 ...

but was released at the end of training camp. He was then signed to the Eagles'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. However, he was re-signed by the Eagles to the active roster on November 22, 1996. He was inactive for the final four regular season games. He was active, but did not play in the Eagles NFC Wild Card Game at the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He was later released, and was out of football in 1997.

NFL Europe (1998–1999)

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, Burks was selected in the 11th round of the

draft by the Rhein Fire, where he recorded 13 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns while backing up league MVP Marcus Robinson. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he led the team with 32 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns. In the Fire's

World Bowl VI World Bowl '98 (also referred to as World Bowl VI) was the sixth championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday, June 14, 1998. The game was between the Frankfurt Galaxy, who finished the sea ...

win over the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

, he had two receptions for 35 yards, both for touchdowns.

National Football League (1999–2000)

After World Bowl VI, Burks then signed with the

on July 13, but was released at the end of training camp. He was immediately signed to the Panthers' practice squad, where he remained until December 29 when he was signed to the active roster for the season finale against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, however he was inactive for the game. In total, Burks was a member of the Panthers for four games, playing in one, in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

when he returned one kickoff for 25 yards, before being waived on October 3, 1999.

XFL (2001)

In 2001, Burks played for the Orlando Rage of the

, helping them to an 8–2 recordExtinct Sports Leagues X Football League (2001)
/ref> by recording 34 receptions for 659 yards and seven touchdowns. His 19.4 yard-per-catch average led the league and his touchdown total was tied for second in the league. In week one of the season he caught three touchdown passes from

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Jeff Brohm. Burks was signed by the

on July 27, 2001. But was later released. He was then re-signed by the Carolina Panthers on August 13, 2001. He was however released on September 3, 2001.

Arena Football League (2002–2007)

Dallas Desperados (2002–2003)

In , Burks made the transition to arena football, by signing with the Dallas Desperados of the

(AFL). In his

season, he led the team with 54 receptions for 677 yards and 16 touchdowns before suffering a fractured

wrist In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the Carpal bones, carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known ...

against the Indiana Firebirds that ended his season. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on June 11, and underwent surgery to repair the wrist the next day. After missing the second half of the season, he returned to the field in and set franchise single-season records in receptions (102), receiving yards (1,226) and touchdowns (28).

Georgia Force (2004–2005)

In , Burks signed with the Georgia Force and went on to earn the team's Ironman of the Year award after making the switch from

Offensive specialist In arena football, a specialist was a player, other than a quarterback or placekicker, who was exempt from the league's one-platoon system ("Iron Man"). Under the original Arena football system, six of the eight players on each team were required ...

to wide receiver /

. He finished the year with 73 receptions for 1,075 yards (second best in team single-season history) and 18 touchdowns while posting 25.5 tackles, nine pass breakups and two picks on defense and returning six kickoffs 61 yards. In his Force debut against the New York Dragons, Burks caught four passes for 72 yards and recorded one tackle. His season was slowed due to injury. Due to those injuries he played in only four games, recording just 18 catches for 180 yards, one tackle and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

before being traded to the

. With the Force, Burks returned to health and recorded 34 receptions for 382 yards and seven touchdowns. He earned Defensive Player-of-the-Game honors in the home opener against the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

after recording just his third career interception and a pass defensed. Burks also added three catches for 41 yards. He recorded three catches for 25 yards at the Avengers before being placed on reserve/injured on February 10 with a hamstring injury. He returned to play against the

Buffalo Destroyers Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

, recording six receptions for 46 yards. He added six receptions for 68 yards with a tackle on the road against the Dragons before returning to the reserve/injured list with the same hamstring injury.

Grand Rapids Rampage (2006)

Burks was then traded to the Grand Rapids Rampage on March 30 in exchange for wide receiver / linebacker Chris Jackson. In his first game with the Rampage, Burks saw limited playing time against the Nashville Kats and recorded two receptions for 20 yards. Against the Colorado Crush, he recorded season-highs with nine catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Dallas Desperados (2006–2007)

With the loss of

Bobby Sippio Robert Lee "Bobby" Sippio, Jr. (born December 4, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Peoria Pirates in 2002. He played college football at Western Kentucky. During Sippio's professional career, he played for t ...

in free agency, the Desperados signed Burks in the fall of 2005 to complete the starting line-up. He ranked in the top five in all career receiving categories in Dallas franchise history: receptions (fourth - 156); receiving yards (fifth - 1,904); and touchdowns (fifth - 44), when he returned to Dallas. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, he finished the season with his highest number of touchdown catches (29) and his second highest totals for receptions (93) and receiving yards (1,130). He carried the ball seven times for 20 yards and two touchdowns. He was named Player-of-the-Game for the Desperados 55–48 win over the Las Vegas Gladiators, for his 10 catches, 114 receiving yards, four touchdown receptions, one rushing touchdown. Then, in , he finished fifth in receiving for the

Desperados Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publ ...

with 18 receptions from 243 yards, averaging 13.5 yards per reception, and nine touchdowns. He also recorded 3.5 tackles. The reason for the low total statistics is the fact that Burks returned to school, but was kept on the teams "availability list" as a precaution.

Career statistics

Coaching career

While playing in the

, Burks served as an assistant coach at Hopewell High School in 2002, and

Berkmar High School Berkmar High School is a high school located in Lilburn, Georgia, United States. It has approximately 2,912 students, grades 9 through 12. Berkmar High School's principal is Durrant Williams. The school opened in 1966 to help overcrowding at ne ...

from 2004 to 2005. Then he became the wide receivers' coach for LaGrange College from 2006 until 2009. In 2008, while at LaGrange College, he also became the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and

Fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

coach for the Georgia Force in . In 2010, he became an assistant coach at

Troup High School Troup High School is a public high school located in the city of Troup, Texas, United States and classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Troup Independent School District located in extreme southern Smith County. In 2015, the sc ...

. He then returned to LaGrange High School as an assistant coach from 2011 until 2012. On January 16, 2013, he was hired by Lafayette High School as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

and head coach in Lafayette, Alabama. In 2014, he became head coach at his alma mater LaGrange High School. In the winter of 2021, he became the head coach of the Warner University football team.

Personal life

Throughout his professional career, Burks has helped support the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

he played in. During his first stint with the Desperados, he served as a celebrity guest coach at 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 ...

Let Us Play! Sports Camp for underprivileged girls. He and wife Patricia have two daughters, Kennedy and Payton, and two sons, Dialleo, Jr., and Kameron.

References

External links

LaGrange Granger bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burks, Dialleo 1974 births Living people Players of American football from LaGrange, Georgia American football wide receivers American football linebackers Eastern Kentucky Colonels football players Philadelphia Eagles players Carolina Panthers players Oakland Raiders players Rhein Fire players Dallas Desperados players Georgia Force players Grand Rapids Rampage players Georgia Force coaches Orlando Rage players Warner Royals football coaches LaGrange High School (Georgia) alumni Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)