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CSR Exclusive: Trent Dilfer on Ryan Burns

When Cardinal Sports Report was at Stanford earlier this week to cover the David Shaw quarterback academy, we ran into a distinguished visitor: former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer.
Dilfer, who runs the Elite 11 quarterback camp, was on hand to watch Stanford's 2013 signal caller commit Ryan Burns.
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Dilfer spoke with Cardinal Sports Report at the conclusion of the first session of the QB Academy and shared his thoughts on the Burns.
Cardinal Sports Report: What have you seen from Ryan Burns out here today?
Trent Dilfer: Oh, the kid is so talented. I think we'll start from just a stature standpoint, when you're that developed and your body is already that mature, you're just able to do more things than the next kid. But beyond that, fundamentally he's been trained very well by this staff through the summer camps. Pep and Dave, nobody in the country trains the position better at the college level. And he's had the benefit of that training in the summer camps. So he comes with a real solid fundamental base put with stature that really is top-five in the country. He's a smart kid, he wants to do things right. I'm really impressed with the kid.
Is there anything you'd like to see him shore up?
TD: He just needs to play more football. He needs to play more football. He needs to be exposed to more football. He's only been exposed to a very remedial level football at his high school. And that's not his fault, and that's not his coach's fault. High school coaches' jobs are to win games, not have your quarterbacks throw for 4,000 yards. He just needs to be exposed to more football. When he gets to Stanford, I think because of his summer experiences he'll have that recall and I think it will be a faster transition for him than for some kids that come from more remedial high school offenses because he's been exposed to it both verbally and visually.
Aside from the size and the frame, what do you think really makes him special, what really separates from some of the other guys that you've seen?
TD: I always look for a unique trait. A unique trait could be foot energy, could be ball speed, could be stature, could be whatever. To me with Ryan right now it's probably the compactness of his stroke. He doesn't have any wasted movements so he'll be able to play in tighter spaces. So if the right guard gets beat on a rush some quarterbacks needs that room to get rid of the ball, Ryan will be able to stand there with the guy close to him and still deliver accurate balls down the field.
*Note - Burns was invited to participate in Dilfer's Elite 11 finals, but the four-star recruit declined. Burns will instead participate in a team camp the same week as the finals.
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