In a press conference Friday, Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson indicated that the injury suffered by LB Julian Burnett in the 2011 Sun Bowl could be far worse than previously imagined:

"There’s a lot of guys who are playing and have gone through it," Johnson said in response to a question about players ending their careers because of an injuries or health issues. "But they’ve come out on the other end, that they’ve determined it’s O.K. for them to play. It happens a lot; it’s a violent sport, high-contact."

However, citing privacy concerns, he refused to go into much depth about the extent of Burnett's injury:

"If Julian wanted to shed light on it, he could," Johnson said. "I think what has to happen is they’ll sit down at the appropriate time, we’ll sit down, and we’ll do what’s best for Julian".

Burnett, a 5'10 220 LB from Macon, Georgia, was extremely effective as a junior in 2011, racking up 120 tackles, including 9.5 for loss and 1 sack, while being named as a second-team All-ACC LB.

He left the Yellow Jackets 30-27 OT Sun Bowl loss to Utah in the first half with an undisclosed injury and did not return.

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